


Something Always Brings Me Back to You

by WillSirius094



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Drama & Romance, F/F, Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Hosie, Hosie Endgame, Internal Conflict, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26813254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillSirius094/pseuds/WillSirius094
Summary: "After everything that happened, it’s time for us to let loose and have fun." Her twin sister’s words echoed in her head. "We all deserve this break, Jo."Josie agrees to this, but a party? With alcohol and drunk teenagers? This is not what she wants right now (she just wants to lay down in her bed all day).orBasically, this is a fanfic of Josie getting drunk and she might've spilled some truths.--------------------------------CHAPTER 11“Your smirking, that looks dangerous,” MG points out.Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Don’t be a bummer, MG. I am just in awe of myself. I was able to come up with this kind of amazingly spectacular plan for Josie’s confession.”MG furrowed his eyebrows, he loves Lizzie so dearly, but he also knows how...extra...she could be. “Let me see.”Lizzie gave her notes to MG to check out. MG’s expression was unreadable, “You do know that Josie prefers simple but really romantic.““I know.”MG raises the notes up, “This is not simple, Lizzie. And yeah, maybe it is romantic, but I think this is too much.”
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, Josie Saltzman & Lizzie Saltzman, Josie Saltzman/Lizzie Saltzman, Landon Kirby & Hope Mikaelson, Milton "MG" Greasley & Lizzie Saltzman, Milton "MG" Greasley/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 183
Kudos: 526





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. This is my first Hosie fanfic.
> 
> English is not my first language, so I hope you guys will go easy on me.
> 
> Enjoy!

Josie looks at the mirror, she's getting ready for the party later that night. She was wearing a plain yellow blouse and a dark navy blue pencil skirt.

_After everything that happened, it’s time for us to let loose and have fun._ Her twin sister’s words echoed in her head. _We all deserve this break, Jo._

Josie agrees to this, but a party? With alcohol and drunk teenagers? This is not what she wants right now (she just wants to lay down in her bed all day).

But as always, the brunette just gave in to what her twin had planned. Maybe a part of her wanted this too. It’s been a week since Malivore was finally defeated after a long time of struggles and fighting, and a few months since the _Dark Josie_ fiasco happened. 

Josie sighed heavily. Maybe, this is what she needed.

* * *

“Jo! What took you so long?!?” Lizzie called out to her sister as she entered the party. “I needed time to prepare, remember? Maybe if you told me about this party a bit earlier then I wouldn't be late”, Josie retorted.

The blonde rolled her eyes, “FYI, I did inform you yesterday. You were too engrossed with your book and bed to even notice me.”

“You didn’t tell me it would be today.”

“Well, if you were more interested in what I was saying, then-”

“Hi guys,” MG approached us with cups on both his hands, “Jo, you came? Here, have some drinks.” He offered one of the cups to Josie and she gladly accepted it.

Lizzie turned her attention to MG, “Hi babe.” MG gave her the other cup, “here’s yours, babe.” Lizzie kissed MG’s cheek and thanked him.

If there is one thing positive that had happened these past months, it would be Lizzie and MG getting together. MG had always been into Lizzie, to see the blonde finally reciprocate him, not only made Josie happy for the vampire but also happy for her twin. Josie knows MG will do anything to make her sister happy.

Josie sipped from her cup and slowly backed away from the couple, “That’s my cue to leave. I don’t want to be the third wheel to your happiness.” 

“Oh no, you don’t.” Lizzie grabbed Josie’s wrist. “You are not going anywhere.” Josie tried to shake her sister’s hand away, but Lizzie had a strong grip on her. Josie defeatedly said, “Okay, Okay.” 

The trio then walked to a corner of the Old Mill, where most of the Super Squad were sitting and greeted them. They played some games, talked, and danced.

After some time, the twins were now sitting on the couch. Lizzie nudged her sister’s shoulder,”Are you enjoying the party, so far?” Josie smiled at her sister softly. “Yeah, I’m enjoying this more than I thought I would.” 

“Good.” Lizzie smiled back.

With a huge mischievous smile, Lizzie suddenly faced her, “It’s time for part two.” Confidently, the blonde twin expressed, “You should go and flirt with people.” “Excuse me?” Josie replied. 

“Believe me, my dear sister, it is what you needed.” Josie gave her a confused look.

“Josette Lucas Saltzman, your love life is as barren as the desert. This is a party, a good place to meet people, to flirt with people. Go hunt some bitches.” 

Josie couldn’t believe what she just heard from her sister. _Hunt some bitches?_

“And besides,” the blonde added while sipping through her cup, ”You really need to get laid.” Josie smacked her sister's arm, “Lizzie!”

“What? It’s the truth. Don’t tell me you have not been sexually frustrated all these months. Those sex dreams you've been having about...”

Josie interjected. “I am not sexually frustrated and I’m just not in the mood for romance.”

“Yeah, right,” Lizzie replied while rolling her eyes.

“I am not.” Josie pouted at her sister.

Lizzie just laughed, “Jo, after your short term weird relationship with our old babysitter vampire, you never dared to date again. What do you expect me to think?”

“With all the monsters coming after us, do you think I would still have time to date?” Jo replied. “And don’t call Jade that.”

“Did I lie?” Josie just rolled her eyes. 

“I still don’t understand what you see in her, by the way.” Lizzie expressed, “I only see her as the babysitter who doesn’t age.” 

“She was kind and sweet to me,” Josie replied, “she was also there when I needed someone.”

“Yeah, to take care of you.” Lizzie retorted, “like a babysitter.”

Josie glared at her sister, “Lizzie, stop.”

“Okay, okay. At least she was better than your old flames, Satan and Birdboy. The vampire babysitter was at least civil and interesting.”

Josie was tired of arguing with her sister about Jade. To be honest, she doesn’t want to talk about Jade. The vampire broke up with her after a month of being together. Josie didn’t blame her though, it was too late when Josie realized she wasn’t into the relationship as Jade was.

She liked being with the vampire. She felt loved, taken care of. But for some reason, she couldn’t give her heart fully to the vampire, as if someone had already gotten hold of her heart without her knowledge.

Josie was lost in her thoughts when Lizzie suddenly asked her, “What happened to you and Hope?” 

“Huh?” Josie looked at her twin.

“I’m not dumb and I also have eyes, Josie. You guys aren’t hanging out as much anymore. When she is in our room, you leave. When she’s with us on our table during lunch, you barely talk.” Lizzie was eyeing her warily. “Did something happen between you two?”

Josie looked away, “Nothing happened.” She can still feel Lizzie’s gazed at her like she’s trying to read her.

_Of course, Lizzie would notice,_ Josie thought. Hope is Lizzie's best friend. The sudden change between the tribrid and the brunette's relationship would never go unnoticed. She silently cursed herself for not being so subtle.

She was sipping her drink when suddenly Lizzie stood up, “Speaking of the devil, look who’s here.” Josie looked up and froze.

_Hope_.

Hope, gorgeous as ever, walked inside the Old Mill, looking lost. Her eyes were traveling around, trying to look for her friends. Then she spots them in the corner. She felt relaxed and slowly walked over to them. She was wearing a blue plain fitting shirt, paired with black skinny jeans and high heeled boots. _Typical Hope look_ , Josie thought. Still, Hope was able to take Josie’s breath away.

It’s been a while since Josie had seen Hope. These past months, Josie and Hope were inseparable. 

After the _Dark Josie_ debacle, Hope made sure to always be there for Josie, while Josie made sure to keep Hope grounded as her phoenix boyfriend just became their mortal enemy (MaliLandon). 

However, ever since Malivore was defeated, Josie pretty much stopped hanging out with Hope. Landon was back, Hope's boyfriend and her ex. She felt wrong to continue hanging out with her best friend. She distanced herself, thinking it's for the best. _They needed to make up for a lost time_ , that was Josie’s reasoning. However, was that the only reason?

“The almighty tribrid has arrived,” Lizzie raised her eyebrow, “Late much?” Hope just shrugged, “I went for a run a while ago. I still needed to shower and all.” Hope then locked eyes with Josie, who was still sitting on the couch. The tribrid smiled softly, “Hi Josie.”

Josie just dazed at Hope for a minute before realizing she was staring. She quickly stood up and greeted the tribrid properly, “Huh..ah...Hi, Hope.” 

Hope's smile grew. Josie missed her smile, very much.

On cue, their other friends then came over and greeted Hope. Josie continues to stare at Hope, in awe of her. She wants to ingrain this relaxed version of Hope in her memory. Forever.

She knew she missed being with Hope, but she didn’t expect it was this much.

Suddenly, she saw Landon and Hope interacting, smiling, and talking. Then she remembered her place, her reasons. Remembered that those two were a couple. She looked away, she doesn't want to be there anymore.

She finished her cup and put it on a table.

_You’re in love with Hope._

_You can't deny it anymore, Josie._

Josie suddenly froze, remembering Jade’s words to her months ago.

_You always have and will always will._

_As much as I wanted you, I couldn’t compete with her._

_You already gave her your heart._

Josie felt lightheaded. 

Why was she remembering this now? 

She closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. Unknowingly, she was stumbling around. As she was about to fall, she felt a hand on her back, holding her firmly. “Josie?” Slowly, she opened her eyes only to be greeted by concerned blue ocean eyes. “Are you okay?”, Hope asked her softly. 

She always loved looking at Hope’s eyes. It made her feel vulnerable, seen.

Before Josie could even answer, Lizzie was on her side, “Is everything alright?” Josie immediately composed herself, “I’m good, I just got lightheaded for a minute.” Noticing the concerned eyes on her, “I’m really okay, don’t worry. I think I just need some air for a bit.”

Even though Lizzie wasn’t convinced, she let Josie go.

* * *

The brunette went out of the Old Mill, walking aimlessly in the woods, not far from the party.

Josie is not a fan of the dark, it makes her paranoid. Not knowing what's lurking out there, it's definitely not helping her mental health. But she asked for this, she needed _air_ , she needed to _get out of there_.

_Maybe I should go back to my room,_ she contemplated. The thought is very enticing as she already missed the comfort of her bed. However, if she goes now, Lizzie would know something is going on with her. And with _Hope._

_Hope._

Her best friend.

Whom she happens to be in love with, apparently.

Josie sighed heavily. 

She doesn’t know why she’s in this predicament. She used to have a little crush on Hope, yes, when they were younger, but she was sure it faded after some time. What she couldn’t understand is why it's back? When did it start to grow? 

Maybe she never got over her crush? And now, after spending more and more time with the tribrid, she unconsciously fell in love with her.

_Ugh_ , Josie crouched down, frustrated. 

When Jade broke up with her a few months ago, she didn’t expect to be called out for her latent feelings for her best friend. She wasn’t even aware of it. It was when Jade pointed it out to her when she realized. 

These past months, she was able to divert her attention to monster hunting and not minding her feelings. Just like a fever dream, she cherished every moment with the tribrid. She was indeed in love with the auburn-haired girl. However, she knows her feelings will never be reciprocated. 

_Landon_.

Hope’s boyfriend.

Hope’s epic love.

Hope’s _happiness_.

All Josie wanted was for Hope to be happy. After everything that happened in her best friend’s life, the struggles she went through, Hope deserves a happy ending. 

She was just the best friend, and it will remain that way, now and in the future.

Josie slowly got up and decided to go back inside the Old Mill. Her sister told her to let loose and have some fun with her friends, and she will do just that.

As she was about to enter the party, she heard a familiar laugh. She looked over to her right and saw Jade, giggling beside Wendy.

She was smiling, happy, _in love_.

Jade was all over Wendy, kissing the witch’s cheek when she got a chance.

_She’s happy, good for her_ , Josie thought. She was happy for the vampire, that she was able to move on from her. However, she also felt hurt. Jade was happy, Josie wasn’t.

Josie swallowed the thought and continued walking. 

It took her a while to reach her friends, they seemed to have transferred to a different corner. She greeted Kaleb and Jed, while Rafael offered her a drink, which she accepted. After some small talk, Josie felt like it's time for her to retreat and call it a night. She tried looking for her sister until she saw her dancing and laughing with her boyfriend, MG. It’s been a while since she saw her sister this carefree and happy. She decided to just send her a note and retreat.

As she was about to leave, she wondered where Hope was. She felt bad for not talking to her these past days and maybe, they could hang out now. After a few minutes of looking, she was about to give up when she saw the tribrid with her boyfriend at a corner, talking. _Of course, they would be together_.

Both of them were smiling at each other, so happy with each other’s presence. 

Josie needed to look away, she felt her heart being crushed in front of her. It was then she realized how everyone is happy, enjoying their new freedom, while she is there, standing, being miserable.

_After everything that happened, it’s time for us to let loose and have fun._

Her twin sister’s words echoed once again in her head.

_We all deserve this break, Jo._

_This is a party, a good place to meet people, to flirt with people. Go hunt some bitches._

Then and there, Josie decided that she will.


	2. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There’s definitely something.”
> 
> “Lizzie.”
> 
> “C’mon, Mikaelson. Make your move. Talk to her.” Hope contemplates. It’s quite clear that Josie escapes from her, yet again, and she’s desperate to know why the brunette is avoiding her. But if her best friend is not talking to her right now, then there must be a good reason for it.
> 
> “I don’t know, Lizzie.”
> 
> “Getting cold feet now, tribrid?” Lizzie raised her eyebrow, “You’re supposed to be the most powerful supernatural in existence. Are you actually scared to talk to my sister, when she’s just… Josie?”
> 
> “Okay, okay. I will talk to her,” she resigned. Lizzie pats her back, encouraging her.

The sunlight rays from the windows were glaring, Hope started to stir from her sleep. She notices she wasn’t on her bed, but in an uncomfortable position on her chair. She slept while writing her journal. _Great._

Hope stretches her sore muscles away. _Thank god for super healing_ , Hope thought. She looked over her untouched bed. It’s been a week since she had a good sleep. 

Since Malivore’s death, to be exact.

She doesn’t know why, but ever since then, she was on the edge, unsettled, restless, alert, and moody. She thought she got a hold of this, actually having full control. But no, she feels worse now. Not only it affects her daily life, but it affects her relationships, as well.

Landon, her boyfriend.

Ah, correction.

Her ex-boyfriend.

After their huge fight yesterday, Hope ended it. She couldn’t handle it anymore. Everything was different. Their relationship wasn’t the same anymore. Of course, she knew it wouldn’t be the same, especially after everything that happened. Her, (accidental) turning into a full tribrid just a few months ago, and Landon, well, from being possessed by his evil mud fatherto his same old phoenix self. Both tried, or more effort on her side, to keep the relationship afloat, but it was clear as day that their relationship was doomed.

This was supposed to be her “epic love.” The greatest love her mom used to talk to her about. But these past few days just showed her how wrong she was. How their “love” wasn’t enough to save their relationship.

She still cares for him. He’ll always have a place in her heart. But love, nope. It wasn’t there anymore.

Hope sighed heavily. She should start her day in a good mood. She longed for the days where she would actually be at peace, content, and happy.

She started picking up her clothes and the mess she trashed last night. After she got back from Mystic Grill, she almost lost control of her powers, which resulted in the mess she’s in now. She wolfed out to ease her conflicted emotions. A huge part of her was relieved that she ended the relationship with the phoenix, but there’s a small part of her doubting if she did the right thing. The run was helpful, but she was still restless. Something was bugging her, but she couldn’t point out what it was.

While being lost in her thoughts, she heard a loud banging on her door.

“Hope! Andrea! Mikaelson! Open the door!”

_Lizzie?_. The tribrid tries to remember if she has an important thing to do with the blondie on a Saturday. Definitely, none.

“Hope! Andrea! Mikaelson!” Lizzie continues to bang the door, ”I know you are in there. Stop ignoring me and open the damn door.” Hope only rolled her eyes in response.

The moment Hope opened her bedroom door, Lizzie barged in. “Good morning to you, too.” She monotonously greeted the invader.

“It’s already noon, Hope.” Lizzie disgustingly looks at her, “and you looked like a zombie.”

Hope checked the grandfather clock at the corner of her room, “Oh.” _I must have overslept_.

Lizzie looks around. She saw how messy the room was, but she was more intrigued by the bed. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Your bed is untouched.”

“I slept on my chair.”

“Wow, no wonder you looked like crap. I mean, well, after everything that went down yesterday, I totally understand-”

“Wait, What?” Hope looked at Lizzie. “You know?”

“Of course I know, gossip travels fast. I know about bird boy and your Lil breakup scene at Mystic Grill. Out of the places you could roast the bird, you did it in the best place ever. Definitely, EPIC.”

Hope shakes her head. “MG.”

Landon and Hope were having a dinner date at the Mystic Grill when everything turned sour. Landon continues to be insensitive and acts like there’s nothing wrong with their relationship. He snaps at Hope for always being moody around him, not trying to understand her circumstances. Hope tried so hard not to explode, but it was only a matter of time. 

It was harsh and bad. But she let it all out. The downside, it was in public.

Good thing, MG and Kaleb happened to be there and they were able to do some crowd control ( *ahem* compulsion *ahem* ).

Lizzie laughs. “Don’t be angry at him. You don't have to worry, no one knows anything, just me. I forced him to spill the TEA.” Hope begrudgingly answers, “Of course, why am I not surprised.”

“I can't believe it, though. Who knew you have it in you? I mean, your relationship had a doomsday clock ticking since his return from the dark side. For a person with abandonment issues, you actually took the first step.”

Hope just sighed, “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“So, you guys are officially over now?”

“That’s what I wanted, but Landon won’t accept it.”

“Since when did he care for your opinion?”

Hope looked at Lizzie. “What? It's the truth and you know it.”

Hope sits on her bed. She buried her face to her hands, frustrated. Lizzie looks at her warily, like she wants to ask something but can't.

“Spit it out, Saltzman. What do you want to know?” Lizzie sits beside Hope.

“Okay, why did you break up anyway? I thought he was your “ _epic love_ ”. What changed?”

Hope looks down at her hands. “I changed.”, she mumbled.

“These past months had been a rollercoaster, in some ways, it changed me both, for the better or worse. I really thought that once Landon would come back to me, and Malivore would be gone for good, everything would go back to normal, to what it used to be.” She laughed dryly. “It was actually the opposite.”

She looked sadly at the blonde twin, “I'm not the same Hope from before, Lizzie. I'm not the same person who was in love with Landon. While he is... Landon. The same guy from months ago. I mean, the moment he was possessed by his dad, time stopped for him. He still thinks nothing has changed. But everything did change. All of us went through hell these past months, and yet he’s so insensitive about it.” She sighed, “There’s no point in continuing the relationship anymore.”

Lizzie quietly nodded. “Well, from what I heard from MG, you roasted him good.”

Hope buried her face in her hands again.

“Anyways,” Lizzie handed Hope a care package, “Here. Care package from your absentee best friend. She noticed you weren't at breakfast and lunch, so she sent me to give this to you.”

Hope was shocked. 

Josie, her best friend who, for some reason, had been avoiding her these past few days, actually thought to give her a care package.

“Oh, thanks.”

Lizzie stared at Hope.

“What?”

“What’s going on between you and my sister?”

Hope deflated. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know. Something definitely happened.”

“That’s the thing, Liz, I don't know. Everything was okay, more than okay even, then out of sudden, she’s avoiding me.” 

Lizzie thinks as Hope munches to her food. It was a mix of her favorites. She silently thanks her best friend.

The blonde suddenly elated, “You know what, there is a party later, you can go wild and forget about your problems for a while.”

“I don’t think that's a good idea, Lizzie. You know I’m not a fan of parties.”

“Oh, common, Hope. You said you’ve changed.” the blonde teases. “It’s time for you to experience the full extent of young adulthood.” Hope groans. She doesn’t like the idea at all.

“And oh,” Lizzie smirked, “Josie said she’s going. It would be your opportunity to corner her and talk.”

Hope thought for a moment. She would do anything just to be able to talk to Josie again, but a party? She’s still edgy as hell, and not comfortable in crowded places. With her super-heightened sense now, she’s not sure she could control her mood properly.

Lizzie noticed the contemplation in the tribrid’s face. “Believe me, Mikaelson, tonight’s going to be amazing.” Lizzie winks at her, “Josie won’t be expecting you.”

\----------

She arrives at the party looking lost. Her short stature wasn’t helping at all. Good thing, she was able to hear Lizzie’s voice calling out to her.

“The almighty tribrid has arrived,” Lizzie raised her eyebrow, “Late much?” Hope just shrugged, “I went for a run a while ago. I still needed to shower and all.” Hope then locked eyes with Josie, who was still sitting on the couch. The tribrid smiled softly, “Hi Josie.”

Josie took a while to respond, “Huh..ah...Hi, Hope.” Hope smiled at her, she can’t believe Josie was actually greeting her. She missed the brunette so badly.

On cue, their other friends then came over and greeted Hope. She’s a bit overwhelmed by the attention of her friends. Then she saw Landon. “Hey”, he greeted her with an awkward smile. “Landon,” she didn’t expect to see him this soon. She doesn’t really know what to say, especially, after their bad breakup yesterday. 

At the corner of her eye, she saw Josie stumbling around. Before she falls, Hope immediately catches her. “Josie?”

Josie painfully opened her eyes, blue meeting brown, “Are you okay?”, Hope asked her softly. Before the former could answer, the blonde twin came to her sister’s side and asked if she was okay. Josie tells them that she’s okay, it didn’t sit well with Hope, there was something wrong, but she didn’t push the brunette and let her go.

“There’s definitely something.”

“Lizzie.”

“C’mon, Mikaelson. Make your move. Talk to her.” Hope contemplates. It’s quite clear that Josie escapes from her, yet again, and personally, she’s desperate to know why the brunette is avoiding her. But if her best friend is not talking to her right now, then there must be a good reason for it.

“I don’t know, Lizzie.”

“Getting cold feet now, tribrid?” Lizzie raised her eyebrow, “You’re supposed to be the most powerful supernatural in existence. Are you actually scared to talk to my sister, when she’s just… Josie?”

“Okay, okay. I will talk to her,” she resigned. Lizzie pats her back, encouraging her.

As she was about to go to where Josie went, Landon approached her. “Hope.”

“Not now, bird boy.” Lizzie tries to shoo Landon away, but Landon stands his ground, “I really need to talk to Hope. In private.”

Lizzie was about to retaliate when Hope interrupted her, “It’s okay, Liz. I’ll talk to him for a sec.” 

* * *

“Okay, Landon. What do you want?”

They are now at a secluded corner of the Old Mill. They don’t want to repeat what happened yesterday.

“I want to understand, Hope. Why you are breaking up with me.” Hope gave him a pointed look.

“I already told you yesterday, remember? Do you actually want me to say them again?”

“I know. It’s just,” Landon looks defeated, “Is there anything I could do to prevent this? To fix this?”

Hope looks down. “I’m sorry.”

“Is there someone else?” Hope immediately looked at Landon, “What? No. There’s no one.” Landon looks straight at Hope like he couldn’t believe her. “You have to believe me, Lan.”

He was still unconvinced. Hope decided to hold his hand, “Lan.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?‘

“Yeah.”

Silence surrounds both of them, even though the noise from the party continues to blare. Hope begins to get lost in her thoughts. Why would Landon ask her if there’s someone else? Didn’t he see everything she did for both of them? She knows herself that she wasn’t attracted to anyone.

_Josie._

Hope didn’t expect her best friend to invade her thoughts.

_I had a crush on you._

When the brunette admitted her old feelings for the tribrid, Hope was initially shocked. She used to admire the older twin from afar when they were young. Knowing that they might have liked each other at the same time years ago, the possibility of “what could have been”, she won’t deny, the thought lingers on her mind from time to time. She doesn’t do anything about it, as she was in a relationship (Landon).

When MaliLandon happened, hurt and betrayed by the person she loves the most, Josie was there for her. Even during her transition to becoming a full tribrid, the Gemini twin never left her side. 

These past months were really hard for the tribrid, but Josie was there to ground her, to help her go through the change. she was her rock, the one person she could rely on the most.

Would she admit that she’s catching feelings again for Josie? Maybe. They were always together for months. She can’t help but admire Josie, her empathy, kindness, and strength are like no other. If she developed a crush on the brunette from afar, the effect of the brunette to her is ten times fold now that they have a close relationship. However, Hope is in denial. She was convinced that her strong feelings for Josie were more of platonic love. Nothing more.

She can’t be in love with her best friend, romantically.

That would be impossible, right?

“So this is the end, huh?” Hope looked at Landon.

“I’m sorry, Landon.” Hope, with guilt, looked away.

Landon held both of Hope’s hands and said, “You don’t have to apologize. If there’s someone who needs to, that would be me.”

“I should have been more thoughtful about everything. I was so eager to go back to what we were before, not noticing the changes around me.” Landon smiled sadly. “I should have known better.” 

He touched her cheeks, “I’m going to miss you.” Hope smiled sadly at him. “Me too.”

He embraced her like there is no tomorrow. Hope sighed in relief, she felt content.

Landon broke the embrace and stepped back. “At least we are okay now.” Hope nodded at him.

“Let’s start over. Friends?” Hope looked at him fondly. “Friends.”

* * *

Both Hope and Landon went back to their squad. She noticed that both twins were not present. “Hey guys, have you seen the twins?”

Rafael answered, “Josie was just here awhile ago, while Lizzie...uh...I haven’t seen her. She must be with MG somewhere.”

She didn’t expect that her talk with Landon would take long, now she’s afraid she might’ve missed another opportunity to talk to Josie. 

She really missed talking to her best friend. Along with her struggle to keep her moodiness in check, Josie avoiding her wasn’t helping. Her anxiety and overthinking keep her up at night. 

She tried looking for the twins on the dance floor. Again, she’s having a hard time because of her small stature. Landon saw her distress, “Hey, you okay?” 

“Yeah. I just wanted to talk to Josie.”

“I can help you look for her if you want.”

”That would be great. Thanks.”

Out of nowhere, the whole party suddenly cheered and were focused on the second floor of the Old Mill. Both Hope and Landon were intrigued by this and looked up. There were some groups of wolves and witches drinking. But what caught their eyes was when they saw the person they’ve been looking for, drinking and dancing along with the wolves.

Josie.

Someone added more alcohol to Josie’s cup and she gladly chunked everything while dancing so close to other wolves. Too close for Hope's liking.

Both Hope and Landon were stunned.

The phoenix leaned to Hope, “I thought Lizzie said Josie’s lightweight.”

Still dazed looking at drunk Josie, Hope can’t believe what she was seeing. “She is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for all of the support.
> 
> I decided to make a Hope POV. Heh.  
> I know I mentioned last time that I will feature drunk Josie in this chapter, but this is getting too long for me so I moved it to the next chapter.  
> That also means the next chapter will still be Hope's POV....ish. We will see.


	3. Intoxicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Landon, can you look for Lizzie?”
> 
> “Sure,” sees Hope hurriedly leaving him behind, “Hey, wait. Where are you going?”
> 
> “To save Josie.”

Both Landon and Hope were still stunned from what they saw.

A female vampire gets too close to Josie and showers the twin with kisses, while a wolf was touching her almost inappropriately. 

Something within Hope broke. She felt like her control was slipping faster than it should be. She was feeling a lot of emotions; shock, rage, anger, and jealousy. 

_Jealousy?_

_Why?_

_Why is she feeling jealous?_

She had no idea why, and she also doesn't have time to understand it. All she knows is that she’s not liking whatever that vampire and wolf are doing around Josie. They shouldn’t touch her like that. Not _her_ Josie.

“Landon, can you look for Lizzie?”

“Sure,” He sees Hope hurriedly leaving him behind, “Hey, wait. Where are you going?”

“To save Josie.” Landon was confused. From his perspective, it was shocking to see his ex in that state, but he also sees how the brunette twin was enjoying the attention she was getting. Josie doesn't need to be saved. He just thinks Hope was overreacting.

The tribrid suddenly halted, “Another thing, Lan. Can you fetch me a bottle of water along the way, too?”

Before Landon could answer, Hope went through everyone on the dance floor without a care who she bumped into and went straight to the 2nd floor. 

The moment she reached the floor, Hope was at her boiling point. Seeing the two supernaturals all over Josie up close, definitely not liking what she’s seeing.

“Everyone, Out!” Hope growled loudly for everyone to hear. Some immediately reacted and left, scared of going against the tribrid, but others were too drunk to care.

Pissed off, Hope growled louder, “I said, OUT.” A red and golden ring was now present in Hope’s eyes, which caught the attention of everyone present. Scared, each supernatural student on the 2nd floor left, leaving only Hope and drunk Josie, who’s now stumbling everywhere, not realizing what's going on around her.

Within seconds, Hope was able to recover control of her emotions and looked over the girl who’s the root of her concerns.

“Uhh..” Josie mumbled, Hope went over to the tall girl. She immediately got a good grip on Josie before she would fall down. 

_She’s reek of alcohol. How many did she drink?_

“Josie? Hey, it’s me.” Hope tried to get Josie’s attention. “Hope?”, the Gemini twin looked at the tribrid deliriously. “Hopey!”

Josie immediately embraces the tribrid, "I mish you." 

Hope stumbled for a bit before regaining balance and reciprocated the Gemini twin's embrace. She sighed relieved. She can't express how much she misses being this close to Josie. 

"I miss you, too."

"Noooo, I missss yooouuu more." Hope chuckled.

"Okay, okay. You win. You missed me more." Hope backed away, to take a look at Josie properly. The brunette is still clearly drunk, with sleepy eyes, and was smiling like an idiot at her. 

_Okay, maybe this drunk Josie is cute_.

Josie suddenly cupped Hope's face and smiled sadly. "I really do miss you," she whispered solemnly.

Hope noticed the change of tone and mood. She touched Josie's shoulder carefully and looked at her softly, "Jo? Is everything okay?"

Josie didn't reply, rather, she was just staring at Hope's face like she's memorizing every little bit of detail. From her eyes to her lips, "So beautiful."

Hope blushed. She didn't expect this response. 

Before she could even react, Josie smirked at her and turned away. Stumbling, the brunette went over to the table and grabbed a cup of alcohol. She drank all of its content, to Hope's dismay.

"Stop that, you're already drunk."

Josie just chuckled. She refilled her cup and faced the tribrid. She leaned on the edge of the table. "My dearest sister."

"Lizzie."

"She told me...have fun...let loose," Josie smugly raised her cup, "It's what I'm doing."

The brunette cheerfully drank more from the cup.

"Too much drinking is not fun, Josie." 

Josie just laughed, “Yeah. Too bad.” She winked at Hope, ”I’m enjoying this.”

Hope rolled her eyes, “You’d regret that by tomorrow.” The brunette just shrugged. She turned around again and reached out for an alcoholic bottle to refill her cup. “You know, Liz...she also said...that my love life sucks.”

Hope furrowed her brows. _Love life?_

Now facing the tribrid again, “She told me to (air quotes) hunt some bitches.” 

“What?”

“Yep.” Emphasizing the p.

Hope was astounded by this. She mentally notes to scold the blonde tomorrow. “Is that why you were _enjoying_ yourself a while ago?” she scoffed.

Josie smiled smugly and flashes finger guns at Hope.

Hope crossed her arms, remembering the incident awhile ago. “They were all over you, you know. Touching you inappropriately, Josie,” the brunette just shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”

Hope was irritated by this, Josie being careless with her actions wasn’t helping. She’s definitely going to _kill_ the younger twin for this.

Josie was amused by Hope’s reaction and chuckled. "The attention... I loved it." While sipping her cup, she looked over the dance floor, she mumbled, "It was a good distraction."

Hope was able to catch that, super-hearing and all, and she didn’t like the sound of that. It's clear to her now that Josie is going through something. 

She tries to think of reasons why the brunette would be in this state. Lizzie didn't mention any new lover or enemy. The only thing she could think of was Josie being distant from her. Hope now thinks she might have caused this. Whatever this was, she's now determined to get to the bottom of it.

The auburn-haired girl slowly makes her way to the brunette. She removed the cup from Josie's hands and interlocks their fingers. "Hey." Josie was now looking at her.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

The brunette pouted. She then lazily shakes her head, "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Josie."

"Hope."

"I'm serious, Jo."

"I'm serious, Hope."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

Hope gave her a pointed look. "Stop copying me. Stop (Hope points both at the alcoholic drink and Josie) this."

Josie pouted adorably. Hope tried to keep up her straight face, but it was too adorable.

"And please." Hope touched Josie's face, encouraging the brunette to look at her directly. "Stop ignoring me, Jo." 

There was pleading in Hope's voice. She hates that Josie had been distant to her this week. Now that she has a chance to talk to her best friend, she got a drunk version.

They looked at each other for a minute.

Loving how warm Hope's hand was, the Gemini twin reached and put her hand over it. She closed her eyes and felt instant relief. She missed this. Josie then leaned her head to Hope's shoulder, mumbling, "Sorry."

Hope sighed. She felt the brunette's apology wasn't just about her actions tonight, there was more into it. She's a bit more certain now that she's part of the reason for the brunette's careless deeds. "Are you tired?"

She felt the taller girl nodded. 

"Let's sit down." Hope steadily led Josie to a nearby couch. Both of them sat comfortably in silence. The music on the dance floor was still blaring, but it wasn't annoyingly loud.

Hope looked over to Josie, "Wanna talk about it?"

Josie was looking straight to nowhere, continuing to be tight-lipped about everything.

The tribrid was about to speak when the brunette suddenly talked, "Happiness."

"Hmm?"

"What's that like?"

Hope was confused. She doesn't know where Josie is going with this. She reached out to the brunette's hand, urging her to go on.

"After Malivore," Josie closed her eyes, "Everyone's more relaxed now. Contented. At peace. Happy."

She was quiet again, and it made Hope nervous.

Josie stole a glance at Hope, "Except for me."

Hope wanted to interrupt her, but Josie beat her to it.

"I saw Jade." Josie paused, "She was happy. Smiling...enjoying this new freedom. It's been a while...since I saw her that...happy. " 

"She was even kissing...." she furrowed her brows, trying to remember the name of the witch, "Will? Wen?"

"You mean Wendy?" Hope interjected.

"Yes, yes, her." She chuckled dryly, "Jade. Good for her. She found love...in this hopeless place."

Hope raised an eyebrow, "We're quoting songs now?"

"Shut up."

They chuckled for a bit until they reached a comfortable silence. 

Suddenly, Josie started talking again, this time, it was about her twin. "Even Lizzie." Josie smiled at the thought of the couple, "She's very happy now...with MG." 

"Yeah," Hope agreed.

"MG always liked Lizzie, like forever. I felt sorry for him before, seeing him hurt...over and over again. He must be over the moon now that Lizzie is now in love with him, too." She chuckled at the thought of it.

Noticing the prolong silence, Hope rubbed the other girl's knuckles, "Jo?"

"You." 

"Huh?"

The brunette, now facing the tribrid, looking at her intently, "You."

"Me?"

"Yes."

Hope doesn't really know what's going on, "What's with me?"

"You're also happy." Hope furrowed her brows. She's definitely not.

She just broke up with her supposed "epic love" yesterday.

She was losing control of her own powers.

She's on the edge all the time.

Definitely, far from happy.

If only the brunette knows how much of a mess Hope was this week. 

"Landon."

“What about him?”

"He's your epic love, the love of your life.” Josie was now smiling sadly at her, “You won’t be alone anymore."

“Jo, listen...” Hope wanted to tell her about her break up with the bird boy.

“You don’t need me anymore,” Josie suddenly whispered.

Hope stopped, “Wait, what?” She was shocked by what she heard.

Josie slowly stands up. Even though she was stumbling, she goes over the table again. "You don't need me anymore, Hope." She closes her eyes, “No one needs me anymore.” she scoffed, “Everyone’s happy now, except for me.”

Hope was speechless. She can’t believe Josie thought she wasn’t needed anymore. “You’re wrong.”

She hurriedly went to the brunette, “We need you, we always will.” She looked at her softly, “I need you.”

Josie pouted. She doesn't need any false assurances, she had enough for a lifetime. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Please, Hope.” Josie starts to back away from Hope, “Stop this. Don’t get my hopes up and lead me on.”

"What? Leading you on?"

Hope saw the hurt in Josie’s eyes, ”I can’t take it anymore.”

“Jo, I don't understand what you're talking about”, the shorter girl was confused.

Josie just shakes her head and laughs bitterly, “You really don’t get it, don’t you?”

Seeing the confused face of the tribrid, Josie suddenly yanked the other girl to the couch. Before Hope could even react, Josie climbed on top of her. “Wha-, Josie?”

The brunette holds her down, looking straight at her. “Hope,” she called her huskily.

The tribrid was taken aback by the brunette’s boldness. This was the first time Hope heard Josie calling her name like that. 

“Jo...what...”, the tribrid was at loss.

"Hope,” Josie called out her name again. This time, with urgency, lust, and full of want.

She saw the brunette eyeing her lips while biting her own bottom lip like she wanted to devour her. Hope gulped, the sight was igniting something within her.

She knows where this is going.

She doesn’t know what to do. 

She was breathing heavily. Hearing Josie's rapid heartbeat wasn't helping her at all. 

She knows that whatever they were about to do, regret and pain would come after. She doesn't want that, for both of them, and this needs to stop before it escalates. But a part of her doesn’t want to stop whatever this is. 

Josie was slowly leaning down onto her, but stopped midway, looking straight at Hope's eyes, like she's asking for permission.

For the first time, Hope felt the urgency to kiss Josie. 

She knew she had strong feelings for the brunette, but she always associates her feelings as platonic. But now, nope. This was far from it.

This wasn't platonic love.

Her feelings for her best friend were not platonic at all. 

She desires Josie. 

She wants her. 

She needs her.

So bad. 

She could even feel her wolf wanting to mark the brunette as hers.

Only hers.

Hope looked at Josie's delicious pouty lips and imagine how amazing would it be kissing her.

With enough courage, she closed her eyes and was about to connect their lips, but then she heard footsteps. 

Landon's voice was ringing, calling her name.

_Oh no._

Hope pushed the brunette away, which startled the brunette.

Reality then sinks in. 

Josie realized what they were about to do, "I'm...sorry. I shouldn't..." She retreats away from Hope. 

Seeing the hurtful look on Josie, "Wait..." Hope reached out to Josie, "No, it's not like that."

Before she could even explain, Landon arrived. "Hope, sorry for being la..." He awkwardly looked at them, feeling like he interrupted something.

It took a while before Hope realized the compromising position they were in. 

She panics for a bit, "Ah, Landon." 

Josie, noticing the presence of the bird boy, she suddenly felt a lump on her throat. She moved away from Hope immediately, which caused her to stumble around.

Josie was now feeling the effects of her excessive drinking. She was getting dizzier and dizzier at the moment.

"Jo..." Hope called out to her.

The brunette looked at Hope one last time, before passing out.

For the nth time, Hope was able to grab her before she fell. 

Hope sighed in relief. She held Josie still in her arms.

She noticed Landon standing awkwardly near the stairs, with a puzzled look.

"It’s a... long story.” She implied, expecting him not to ask anything.

Understanding the implied message, Landon gave Hope the bottled water she requested a while ago. “Here, it took me a while to find one.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, I asked around about Lizzie’s whereabouts. Some people said they saw her and MG went back to the dorms.”

“Huh, they actually left first.” Hope thought aloud.

Seeing the tribrid adjusting her hold on the brunette, “Do you...uhmm...need any help?”

"It's okay," Hope says, now carrying Josie in a bridal style, “I can handle it from here.”

“Okay.”

She noticed the bird boy blocking the stairs. She awkwardly smiled at Landon, “I...uh...need to..”

“Of course...of course. See you when I see you.”

“Yeah. Thank you...for everything. Goodnight, Landon.”

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on publishing this chapter yesterday, but I got caught up with all of the new Legacies content, it was hard to concentrate. Hahhahahaha.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this one.


	4. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You've got to be kidding me."
> 
> Hope is now standing in front of the twins' room, hoping this night would end well.
> 
> But it seemed the universe always throws her some curveballs.
> 
> There was a sock on the doorknob. Meaning, the blonde has a visitor in the twin's room doing something she doesn’t even want to imagine.
> 
> She rolled her eyes, Just great.

On her way back to the dorms, Hope began to recall what just happened back in the Old Mill.

She got a chance to talk to Josie, however, it was the drunk version of Josie.

And it was...quite eventful.

Hope looked over the brunette, who’s now sleeping soundly in her arms. 

She didn’t expect her best friend to be thinking that she’s not needed anymore. She can’t wrap her head around how Josie was able to think like that. Now that she knows what’s bugging her, she’s determined to have “the talk” with the Gemini twin. 

This time, without any influence of alcohol.

After all, Drunk Josie’s actions confused the hell out of Hope. Especially the part near the end when they _almost kissed_.

She recalled. Josie was leaning in, about to kiss her. 

Hope suddenly stopped in her tracks.

_Kiss_.

She also remembered herself actually giving in and was about to kiss the brunette.

_I actually wanted to kiss her_ , she realized the implications of their actions.

She slightly panics. She remembers the revelation. 

She has feelings for Josie.

Romantic Feelings.

For her best friend.

“Oh my god.” she gasped.

Suddenly, she felt Josie stirring from her slumber which made Hope hold her breath. She’s not exactly in the right mind to talk to Josie right now. When the brunette went back to the dreamland, Hope felt relieved. 

She continued walking while being lost in her thoughts again.

Why did Josie try to kiss her? Does that mean Josie likes her, too? _But that’s impossible. Josie never showed any interest with me romantically_ , the tribrid thought.

Yes, they spent this past couple of months together and had gotten close. Close enough to be vulnerable around each other, comforting each other, just being there for each other.

But, they were best friends. That’s what friends do.

_Right?_

However, at the back of her mind, she hears a tiny voice, _But ‘what if’?_

What if?

_What if Josie’s old crush on me came back?_ The thought came into her mind. A deadly thought.

She rejects it. It doesn’t add up.

Josie was in a relationship with someone (Jade) a few months ago. Though brief, it was so clear that they were in love with each other.

And probably, Josie doesn’t know what she was doing, after all, she was really drunk.

_People do stupid things when they are drunk,_ she concludes in her mind.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

Hope is now standing in front of the twins' room, hoping this night would end well.

But it seemed the universe always throws her some curveballs.

There was a sock on the doorknob. Meaning, the blonde has a _visitor_ in the twin's room doing something she doesn’t even want to imagine.

She rolled her eyes, _Just great_.

She sighed heavily, looks like she won’t be sleeping alone tonight.

She glanced over the sleeping Josie and whispered, “You’re sister sure knows how to antagonize me without even trying.” Her issues with the blondie continue to pile up, their confrontation soon is going to be fun.

As she reached her room, Hope magically opened the door and quietly entered her room. She carefully laid Josie down on her bed, removed her shoes and other stuff in the way. She gently drapes a blanket over the brunette, gazing at her tenderly.

She looks so peaceful, and _beautiful_.

Josie had always been beautiful, both inside and out. She’s kind, very smart, and one hell of a witch. She also has a big heart and could empathize with people, even sometimes, it’s unnecessary.

She tucked a strand of hair behind Josie’s ear, softly touching her cheeks.

She’s that kind of a person. And she loves that about her.

Love.

Hope looked away. She can’t deny it anymore, she really has romantic feelings for Josie. 

She doesn’t know what to do with them. She knows she can’t confess, she doesn’t even know if Josie would like her back. 

Another issue would be because of her name and existence. She’s a Mikaelson and a tribrid, the only one of her kind. People want her dead even just for breathing. If she got involved with Josie romantically, it would only put the brunette in danger. Unlike Landon, who’s immortal, Josie is a mere human. Though a powerful witch, she’s more likely to get killed. Even being friends with her was already risky enough, getting into a relationship would be really bad.

She also cherishes their friendship. Their current relationship. She can’t afford to lose it just because of her growing feelings for the Gemini twin.

Exhaustion then hit her. 

Hope was getting a headache thinking about everything. She might not have drunk a lot tonight, but she was still dead tired. Her lack of sleep these past days wasn’t helping either.

She just wants to sleep.

She looked around, contemplating where to sleep. She might be sleeping on her chair (again) tonight. As much as she wants to sleep on her bed, she’s not really sure it’s appropriate to sleep beside Josie, after everything that had happened earlier.

She sighed again. _Why do things need to be so complicated?_

She looked over the brunette one last time, before standing up.

“Hhmm.” Josie stirred from her sleep, clearly disturbed. “No..”

_Is she having a bad dream_? Hope thought. “Hope..”

“Hey, I’m here.” Hope sat down beside her and held the younger girl’s hand, letting her presence be known.

“Don’t...go,” Josie pleadingly whispered. “Don’t...don't leave me.”

Hope was startled and then softened. Whatever Josie was dreaming, it must have been bad. Hope continues to caress and shower the brunette caring words of assurance to ease whatever Josie was feeling.

The brunette, eventually, slept soundly.

Hope decides, then and there, to sleep on her bed after all. She took her shoes off and settled next to the brunette.

She carefully wraps her arms around Josie, cuddling her. Showing the brunette how much she cares for her.

Hope then kisses her forehead before whispering, “I will never leave you, Jo.”

Hope slept peacefully, for the first time in days.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Josie first woke up, she felt warm arms around her. Familiar arms that she missed greatly. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust to her surroundings. She then saw the source of warmth she felt, it was the person she misses the most.

Hope, who was sleeping peacefully next to her.

She doesn’t understand if she’s dreaming or what she is seeing is real. After all, she remembers not even talking to the tribrid for a whole week.

It would be impossible for her to be sleeping with Hope in real life.

_This must be a dream_ , she thought.

Knowing the possibility of her situation to be a dream, she snuggled deeper into Hope’s arms until she fell asleep, cherishing her time with the person to whom her heart belongs. 

The next time she woke up, she was alone in the bed. She didn’t mind at all, as she was comfortably sleeping.

_So comfy_ , she thought as she sinks more into the pillows and comforter.

As she was about to go deep again into the wonderland, she suddenly smelled something different, but familiar. She inhaled a mix of cinnamon, vanilla, and forest. _It smells like Hope_.

But that would be impossible, after all, she is sleeping in her bed. _Wait..this...is not my bed._

Josie’s eyes immediately widened. She sits up uprightly, shocked upon realization, she is not in her room. She was in Hope’s.

“Oh god.”

Headache and nausea immediately bombard her. She feels sick. _Ugh._

She looked over to her right and saw a water bottle, a hot tea, and a note. Josie took the water first, clenching her thirst. Then she read the note.

  
  


_Jo,_

_I’m sorry I’m not there with you when you wake up. Your dad suddenly called me over for a meeting._

_There is a water bottle, just in case you are thirsty._

_Also, I concocted a special tea for you to ease your hangover. It might taste bad, at least, the calming effects are immediate._

_If you ever feel hungry, don't wait up for me and go directly to the cafeteria. I will meet you there._

_PS: If you have plans on going to your room, don't. Your sister is with MG and I don't think you want to know what's going on in your room. I set out some clothes at the end of the bed for you to use._

_Hope_

Josie smiled. She missed this.

It was reminiscent of the previous times when Josie sleeps over at Hope’s. The tribrid always leaves a note if she’s gone in the morning.

She also noted how her sister had basically sexiled her from her own room. Maybe that's the reason why she's now here in Hope's room instead.

She looked over to the bedside table and took the tea. It smelled and tasted disgusting, but for the sake of better health, she drank it. She was then overwhelmed by its effects, her hangover was gone.

She felt a lot better.

She’ll definitely need to ask Hope about how to make that awful tea.

She slowly rises from the bed, glancing over the clothes Hope prepared for her. It was the big gray New Orleans sweatshirt that she usually wears when she sleeps at Hope’s and black comfortable shorts. 

Satisfied, she made her way to the bathroom. She uses her extra toothbrush that she left in here, just in case this kind of situation happens (her sleeping over).

Now looking more presentable, she heads over to the cafeteria to have breakfast. Upon reaching the hall, she immediately saw Kaleb and Jed talking. She was about to join them when a female vampire appeared out of nowhere in front of her.

"Hi, Josie!"

Josie was surprised. She doesn't know this vampire, but from how she acts, it's like they were close.

"Uhh...Hey?"

"You looked good today. I really thought you'd be really wasted after everything you drank yesterday," said the vampire while giving a flirty smile.

Josie was taken aback by this. "Thanks...?"

She kinda had an idea that she drank a lot yesterday, her hangover awhile ago was quite intense. But she couldn't remember talking to this girl who is clearly flirting with her. "I'm really sorry, but I don't really remember much of what happened yesterday. Uuhhmmm...Do I? How...did we meet?"

The female vampire raised her eyebrow before offering her hand for a handshake. Josie looked at the hand, not getting the message, before realizing it was a handshake. The moment their hands connected, the female vampire leaned over to the brunette's ear and whispered, "My name is Jessica, and we had a good time last night." 

Josie's face was really red after hearing this, _Had a good time? What does that mean?_

When an awful thought came into Josie's mind, her eyes widened in shock. The vampire then winked at her.

_Oh no._

The vampire was about to leave when Josie stopped her. "Wait." 

The vampire just stared at her, waiting to know what the Gemini twin wants.

When it was clear that Josie lost her ability to talk, the vampire stepped closer to the brunette and said, "Do you wanna do a round two? We could totally do it if you want." 

Josie was too shocked to respond, her mind was going haywire. She tried to remember what happened last night, but all she remembers was loud club music and Hope's voice.

Why would she remember Hope's voice?

The vampire suddenly stopped and slowly backed away from the brunette. This action made Josie looked at the girl in front of her. Her face looked like she was disgusted by something.

"You're scent. You smell like a wolf. Disgusting. I should have known." Then the female vampire left, leaving Josie dumbfounded.

_What the hell just happened_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay. Fast update.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her beautiful blue ocean eyes staring at her.
> 
> She wonders if Hope would know what happened last night. If she keeps on remembering her voice and face, then maybe she was there with her the whole time. 
> 
> While she was drunk.
> 
> She widened her eyes upon realization. She was drunk, like really drunk. With Hope there, she might’ve spilled some things she wasn’t supposed to.

Hope knocked on the door, "You called for me?" Alaric looked up from reading some school papers, "Ah, yes. Come in."

She entered the headmaster's office and casually sat on the sofa chair, "Is everything alright?"

"I should be asking you that?" Hope raised an eyebrow, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Alaric sighed. He walked away from his chair and sat at the edge of his table, in front of the girl, "The Sheriff informed me of some weird occurrence that had happened a few days ago at the Mystic Grill."

Hope immediately looked away in shame. She should have known the incident would reach Alaric soon. "Care to explain what happened?"

Hope remained silent, not looking at the headmaster. "Look, Hope. I'm not here to reprimand you. It's not like you would listen anyway. I just wanted to know what happened."

"I lost control," she mumbled. 

Alaric was alarmed, "You lost control?"

"Landon and I were having dinner at Mystic Grill. He said something insensitive, and I snapped." She shakes her head, "I said some horrible stuff to Landon, while at the same time, I lost control of my powers. Lights were flickering, glasses were breaking, and the whole area was trembling. Kaleb and MG happened to be there and were able to compel the witnesses."

Alaric was silent for a moment. It made the short girl nervous.

“You snapped at Landon.” Hope nodded. “Understandable.”

“But that’s not the whole story, isn’t it." Hope looked up to him. "I know you, Hope. Even if you have a short fuse, you don’t let yourself lose control of your powers,” he expressed. “Is everything alright?”

His tone was soft and fatherly, this made Hope a bit guilty. She contemplated for a bit if she's going to tell everything or not. “These past few days, I haven't been myself.” She looked at the headmaster, “I’m always on the edge, irritable, and moody. Like I’m expecting a monster would come out somewhere or something.” She sighed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I didn’t want you to worry too much, and I thought it would go away after a couple of days.” She looked down in shame, “It wasn’t my intention to cause some ruckus in public.”

“Okay.”

Hope looked up, didn’t expect the turn of events. “Okay?” “Yes.” Alaric went back to his chair and paperwork. 

“You’re not punishing me?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No...but I was expecting at least a lecture.”

Alaric looked at Hope with understanding eyes, “Hope, after what you’ve been through these past months, I totally understand why you are on the edge. You got used to always being alert for monsters. Now that everything is peaceful, your body hasn’t gotten used to it yet. It might take some time, but you’ll eventually adjust back to normalcy.” 

He tries to comfort her, “We are all adjusting to this new norm, you might just need more time.”

“And Yes, what happened at the Mystic Grill was unfortunate and you need to be punished,” he laid back on his chair, “but I will not. I know you know what went wrong at that time and I expect you to not do it again.”

“It won’t happen again.”

Alaric gave her a warm smile, “Good. That would be all.”

Hope reciprocated him with a smile and was about to exit the office when he called her attention, “Ah, Hope.” 

“Yes?”

“I almost forgot to tell you, your Aunt will be visiting here next week.” Hope furrowed her brows. She talks with her Aunt Freya daily, making sure she is okay and well-adjusted now that she’s a tribrid. She was sure that if her Aunt would visit her, she would be informed ahead. “Aunt Freya didn’t mention she would be visiting.”

“It’s not Freya who’s coming.”

“What?” Hope was surprised, “Wait, you mean Aunt Rebekah is coming?” She was shocked. Her vampire Aunt had never visited Mystic Falls in such a long time, it’s usually Freya (with Keelin) who personally sees her here in the town. “Why would she be here?”

“Well, Caroline met her in Paris with Marcel. I don’t know what really happened or what they talked about, but Caroline was able to convince your Aunt to come here at the boarding school to give some pep talk to some of the soon to be graduates.”

Hope can’t believe what she just heard. “Mrs. Forbes-Salvatore and my Aunt. They were talking? Are you sure they didn’t kill each other upon meeting?”

Alaric just shrugged, “Believe me, I also want to know more, but this is all the news I got.”

* * *

“Jessica, huh,” Kaleb chuckled, “I didn’t expect you would hook up with her.”

Josie buried her face in shame as she sat down with the boys. Of course, Kaleb and Jed had heard her conversation with that random girl vampire. Screw enhanced hearing senses. _Ugh_.

“C’mon, Josie. You were (air quotes) _having a good time_.” The wolf comforted the Gemini twin. "Jessica’s actually not that bad, other than her always being bitchy to us, wolves,” Jed remembers in disgust how many times he was insulted by Jessica.

“She’s also one of the seniors graduating this year. You won’t see her that much anymore,” Kaleb added.

Josie sighed. She felt awful for not remembering the girl, but she also felt bad for not remembering their time together. What did the vampire mean about _having a good time_? Did they hook up or just make out? She hopes it was the latter because she might not drink any more alcohol if it was the former.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see her or something,” Josie expressed, “I guess I just felt bad for not remembering anything at all.”

“Wow, you were really that drunk, huh.” The boys laughed.

Josie rolled her eyes and concentrated on her breakfast. 

She tried again to remember what happened last night but was only able to see glimpses of her drinking, dancing with someone, and Hope.

_Hope._

With her beautiful blue ocean eyes staring at her.

She wonders if Hope would know what happened last night. If she keeps on remembering her voice and face, then maybe she was there with her the whole time. 

While she was drunk.

She widened her eyes upon realization. She was drunk, like really drunk. With Hope there, she might’ve spilled some things she wasn’t supposed to. 

_Josie? Hey, it’s me._

_I miss you, too._

_Stop ignoring me, Jo._

She was overwhelmed with Hope's voice and suddenly felt a headache. She was pushing her mind too far. Maybe she needs to take it slow and just let her mind remember everything that had happened on its own pacing. 

“Lizzie’s going to be ecstatic about this, for sure.” Josie heard Kaleb say to Jed. “No, both of you,” she interrupted them, “You won’t say a thing to my sister.”

“Why not, Josie. Isn’t this what she wanted for you last night? To have fun and get laid?”, Jed nonchalantly replied. 

“I don’t even remember what happened last night. Maybe we just talked or something.”

Both boys gave Josie a pointed look.

“Just...please. Don't even try telling her. I will tell her on my own, just… not now.” Both boys looked at each other and gave in to Josie’s request.

“Tell me what exactly?” Both the boys and Josie turn their heads to where the voice came from.

Lizzie.

Very fresh and glowing. She definitely had a good time last night. Following behind her was MG, who was smiling so brightly. Good for him.

Lizzie sits beside Josie while MG offers to get breakfast for the both of them. “So, what were you guys talking about?” Lizzie was asking everyone but mainly looked at her sister.

“Nothing.” Josie wasn’t subtle. Her voice was higher than usual, which made Lizzie more intrigued.

“Oh, really?”

Josie looked at the other 2 boys on the table for help, but both of them didn’t meet her eyes in fear of Lizzie’s wrath. Defeated, Josie looked over her sister and said, “We were just...”

She tries to think of something that could divert the attention of her sister. She then saw MG with two trays full of food. “...talking about how you sexiled me from my own room.”

Lizzie raised her eyebrow, still unconvinced. She was sure her sister was hiding something from her. “It’s not like you were planning on going back to our room, anyway. I saw you made out with someone.” Josie was alarmed. 

_Did she saw me and Jessica together?_

“Wha..what?”

“Yeah. I saw you with some wolf boy on the 2nd floor.” Josie’s mouth was on the floor, shocked by this revelation. First was Jessica, a vampire, now there’s a wolf boy. How many people did she get involved with last night?

Both Kaleb and Jed chuckled, “Damn, girl. I didn’t know you have it in you,” the vampire teased.

Josie just gave them both a warning glare.

Around this time, both Landon and Rafael join the squad on their table.

Barely remember anything from last night, she strongly denied, “Nothing happened.”

“Oh C’mon, Josie. After all of the effort I put into this party, don’t tell me it all went to waste.”

“I thought you said this party was for everyone to celebrate and let loose.”

“Yeah, and that includes you. I was giving you an opportunity to ignite your love life and now you're telling me nothing happened?” Lizzie looked at her sister from head to toe, examining the clothes she was wearing. “My dear sister, it’s clear that you’re not in your party clothes anymore. Who did you hook up with then?” 

Before Josie could even answer, Lizzie noticed the New Orleans logo on her sweatshirt. “Wait, this shirt looks familiar...”

Josie looked down on her sweatshirt, “Yeah, it’s Hope’s.”

“You hooked up with Hope last night?” Lizzie shrieked. Everyone at the cafeteria went silent. On the far end of the table, Josie hears Landon choking on his food.

“What? No.” Josie strongly denied, “Of course not.” Her face was totally red. She didn’t expect her sister to expose her like that. She really feels like she wants to dig her own grave at that point due to embarrassment.

“Then why are you wearing her shirt then?”

“I slept in her room, she lent it to me.”

“So you really slept with her?” This made Josie remember what happened earlier, Hope peacefully sleeping beside her. She felt warm feelings reminiscing the moment. She doesn’t want her sister to see her blushing so she looked away, “We just shared the bed, nothing more.”

“Yeah, right.” Lizzie rolled her eyes.

“It’s the truth, Liz,” Josie looked over to Landon sadly, ”and besides, Hope is in a relationship. You are making things really awkward by blurting nonsense.”

Lizzie scoffs at her, ”What are you talking about? If you are inferring about Hope's lame relationship with bird boy, NEWS FLASH, they already broke up two days ago.” This caught the attention of the brunette. “What?”

“Yep.” Lizzie nonchalantly replied to her sister, “You didn’t know? Oh, yeah. I forgot. You were _that_ absentee best friend.” Josie was shocked by this. 

She didn’t know the couple had broken up. Hope must have been devastated all this time. Josie felt awful and guilty for not being there for the tribrid. She was so consumed with her own sorrow that she didn’t notice her best friend was suffering on her own. She definitely needs to talk to the auburn-haired girl.

She looked down on her own plate. She didn’t get to finish her breakfast, but she was already full.

She looked around, noticing that Hope hadn’t come to the cafeteria yet, even though she mentioned that she would meet her there. Her dad must have kept Hope busy, again, even though there are no more threats. She mentally takes note of reprimanding her dad for relying too much on Hope and let the tribrid breathe.

She decides to get the tribrid her own breakfast before the food in the cafeteria runs out. 

As she was looking over different sets of food for breakfast, someone tapped her on her shoulder.

It was a guy she doesn’t know. “Yes?”

He smiled at her, “Hey.”

Still puzzled, Josie stared at him longer, “Do you...need something?”

“You don’t remember, huh?” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“What?"

He extended his hand to her, “I’m Brock. We kind of...hit it off last night.”

_Oh, he must be the wolf boy Lizzie was talking about,_ Josie thought. “Ah, right. I guess so.” 

He sheepishly smiled at her, “I just...I wanna know when you are free. For a date, I mean.”

“Date?”

“Yeah.”

Josie doesn’t know what to answer.

Brock seemed like a nice guy, and he looked like someone she could easily hang out with. Maybe she could give it a chance? But at the same time, she knows that she is emotionally unavailable at the moment.

The wolf boy notices the contemplation in Josie’s eyes. He stepped a bit closer to the brunette and slightly touched her arm in comfort, “Hey, it’s okay if we don’t date. We could just hang out. Watch some movies or something. We could also talk if you want.”

Josie was thankful for his thoughtfulness. Maybe, it would be a good choice to accept his offer.

“She’s not interested.”

Both looked at the person speaking.

It was Hope.

She was standing not too far from them, with both arms crossed, and was glaring. There was a hint of faint golden circles showing in the tribrid’s eyes.

Brock then notices Josie’s sweatshirt and is overwhelmed by its scent. He stepped back, scared, and shocked by it. He curses himself internally for not noticing immediately.

Josie notices the change of demeanor of the wolf boy, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He looked over Hope, who was giving him a glare. “You know what, forget about my offer.”

Josie was confused.

He frantically stepped back more like a scared little puppy. “It was nice meeting you, Josie. But I gotta go.” He then left the cafeteria in a hurry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I was planning on writing this fic for only 5 chapters, but here we are...still unfinished. Hahahahha.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She then noticed the tray of food in Josie’s hands. She softly asked the brunette, "You haven’t eaten yet?” 
> 
> Josie looked down, “Oh, no. I was done a while ago,” she passed the tray to Hope, “This is yours.”
> 
> “Oh,” Hope accepts the tray, ”thanks”. She looked at the breakfast and internally smiled. She faced the brunette, smiling at her while tilting her head to the side, “Eat with me?”
> 
> Josie returned a smile of her own, “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the delay. I was planning on publishing this one earlier but I got sick, the first time in months. Hehe
> 
> I'm not much of a fan of this chapter but I hope you guys would like this one.

“That was weird,” Josie observed. It was the second time of the day where two people ran away from her when they got too close, she wondered why.

“At least he knows his place,” Hope mumbled as she approached the brunette.

“Good morning,” Hope warmly greets Josie. This was their first real interaction after the events last night.

Josie tenderly smiled in return, “Good morning, Hope.” 

“How are you feeling?”

She inhaled, "I'm good."

"How about your Hangover?"

"All thanks to your tea, I feel better."

Hope felt satisfied, "That's good. It was actually Aunt Freya's special tea."

"You should teach me how to make it. It's very effective."

"Sure. How was the taste?"

Josie relived how disgusting the tea was, “It was bad.”

Hope chuckles, “I figured.”

She then noticed the tray of food in Josie’s hands. She softly asked the brunette, "You haven’t eaten yet?” 

Josie looked down, “Oh, no. I was done a while ago,” she passed the tray to Hope, “This is yours.”

“Oh,” Hope accepts the tray, ”thanks”. She looked at the breakfast and internally smiled. She faced the brunette, smiling at her while tilting her head to the side, “Eat with me?”

Josie returned a smile of her own, “Of course.” 

As they both slowly walk to their table, Josie can’t help but ask her best friend about her errand earlier. “If you don't mind me asking, but why did my dad call you to his office so early in the morning? Is there another monster?” The brunette curiously asked.

The tribrid shakes her head and replies, "He was just checking up on me." The Gemini twin furrows her brows. “Checking? Why? Did something happen?” She doesn't understand why her dad would check up on Hope. There were no monsters anymore and Hope was fully capable of handling herself and had strong self-control. Unless…

The tribrid just shrugged, “Not really. It's nothing to worry about.”

_Jo, I need you_.

Josie suddenly stopped in her tracks. She saw a glimpse of what happened last night. Hope was in front of her pleading, but she doesn’t understand why. She then felt a hand on her left arm, “Josie?”

“Huh?” She snapped out from her confusion and looked at her best friend, who was clearly worried about her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just,” she shakes her head, “It was nothing." She gave the tribrid a tight-lipped smile.

Hope wasn't convinced, but she let it slide. She held out her hand to Josie and Josie took it. They walk to their table, hand in hand.

As they reached the table, they were greeted by the super squad. But as they were about to get settled, Kaleb needed to leave for the headmaster's office, something about some issues within the vampire faction. Rafael and Jed left earlier to go to the gym. Both Landon and MG were in a heated discussion about the latest comic book issues.

“So,” Both Josie and Hope divert their attention to the younger twin, “What happened last night?”

Josie rolled her eyes at her sister who was now grinning like an idiot. “As I said a while ago, nothing happened.”

Lizzie looked at the tribrid, hoping for a more juicy answer, “What she said.”

Lizzie still wouldn’t believe them. She stared unconvincingly on her sister, “That would be impossible, my dear sister. I will not let my efforts go to waste. I have a gut feeling something happened last night,” Josie shifted on her seat. She still can’t remember much of what happened last night. 

Hope, on the other hand, was silent and was focused on finishing her breakfast.

”By the way, I saw you talked to that wolf a while ago? What happened? Did he ask you out?”

“He did,” Josie hesitantly answered.

“And? Did you say ‘yes’?” Before Josie could answer, Hope abruptly rose from her seat. The twins were startled. “I need to get something to drink.” She monotonously said and then walked away from the table. Josie, who was looking over Hope, again, noticed the change in the tribrid’s behavior.

“Jo?” Lizzie nudged her sister, “Did you say ‘yes’?”

“No,” which deflated the blonde, “Hope came over before I could respond.” Lizzie raised her eyebrow, “Okay? So? You should have responded.”

“I was planning to. That’s the thing,” Josie expressed, “The guy suddenly ran away and told me to forget his offer.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I mean, he wasn’t the first person to ran away from me today,” Josie was starting to mumble aloud, “First was Jessica-”

“Wait? Jessica, the senior vampire?”

“-she randomly talked to me earlier, saying we had _a good time_ last night, whatever that was-”

“What? Jo-”

“I’m sure it wasn’t the worst-case scenario. I don’t feel like I had sex with anyone anyway, or else I should be glowing like you are now-”

“-Jo, stop-”

“-She might be lying. Or maybe, we did make out last night. I don’t know as I don’t remember. But anyway, when she got close to me, she disgustedly told me I smelled like a wolf, even though I’m not-”

Lizzie grabbed both of Josie’s shoulders to stop her from blabbing, “Jo!”

“That was really insulti-,” the brunette stopped. She realized she was blabbing nonstop and might have spilled some stuff she wasn’t supposed to.

Noticing the shocked reaction on her twin’s face, Lizzie tries not to react much, and slowly speaks to her sister, “Josette Lucas Saltzman. Breathe, okay?”

Josie tried to speak, but she was tongue-tied. She doesn’t know how to get out of this mess she created.

Lizzie removed herself from her sister and sat up straight, “Okay, that was quite a revelation.”

“Lizzie-”

"Jessica? You made out with that vampire! I was totally okay with the wolf guy, but Jessica? I don't care if she's a senior but she's a bitch, Jo!"

“I was drunk, Lizzie. How would I know? I don’t even remember anything,” Josie argues.

“Still, you should have chosen someone better. Do you remember when we were 13, and we asked mom about us attending the dance? It was Jessica who made sure we couldn’t attend.”

“Wait...that was her?”

“Yeah. You actually forgot, huh.”

“That was so long ago, Liz.” Josie laid on her chair, defeated. She’s never getting drunk in the future.

“Hhmm, so you think both the vampire and the wolf ran away from you after they got too close,” the blonde inquired.

“Yeah.”

“Why is that?”

“I have no idea. Jessica did mention I smelled like a wolf and I was disgusting.” 

“That bitch never liked wolves.” Lizzie tried to smell her sister but she didn't get anything. “You don’t smell bad.”

“I know, that’s why it was insulting,” the brunette expressed.

Lizzie thinks for a minute and gets an idea. She turned to her boyfriend, “Babe?”

MG immediately diverts his attention from the bird boy to his girlfriend, “Yes.”

“Could you come over here and smell Josie?”

Josie’s eyes widened, “Wha- Liz, you’re making it sound like I’m smelly.”

Lizzie didn’t care, “Just testing a theory.” MG went near Josie and smelled her. “Done.”

“So?”

“She smells like what she normally smells, why?” MG nonchalantly says.

Josie sighed in relief, “See? She was being rude.”

Lizzie, still not convinced, looked at her lover and asked, “Someone accused Josie of smelling like a wolf, does she smell like one?”

“Yeah.”

This shocked the twins. “Wait, for real?” Josie asks.

“Yeah, your scent is a mix of your own and a wolf. Why are you guys shocked?”

Josie couldn’t believe what she just heard, “Why would I smell like a wolf when I’m not one?”

MG just shrugged, “To be honest, I don’t really know.” He suddenly remembered something, “If I remember it right, your scent had been like that for a few months now.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Lizzie asked.

“I got caught up with all the monster fighting, it slipped my mind.”

It was around this time when Hope got back to their table and noticed the commotion, “Is everything alright here?” Everyone was looking at her, with different emotions. They just realized something important. “Okay guys, you're creeping me out.” She slowly sits on her seat, still weirded out. As she was about to continue eating her breakfast, “It was you,” Hope looked up seeing Lizzie pointing at her. Hope was shocked, “Huh?” 

“You’re the reason why my sister smells like a wolf!” The blonde accused the tribrid.

“Wait, what?”

Josie tries to calm her sister, “Liz, let’s not try and throw accusations-”

“Jo, it makes sense. Your scent started to change after you hung out too much with Hope months ago. You regularly use her clothes too, especially this sweatshirt you're wearing. Don't get me started with all of the sleepovers you guys do. Both of you were always together. Maybe her wolf scent rubbed on you.”

Josie was dumbfounded for the nth time. Her sister’s theory legit makes sense, but she doesn’t want to believe it.

“Unless,” Lizzie added, “there was more to it.”

She stared at the tribrid, “Did you mark my sister, tribrid?”

Hope, who was still shocked with everything that just happened, “Wha- Mark? Smell? What are you guys talking about?”

Lizzie and MG then explained everything to Hope, while Josie was silently thinking, still processing everything.

“Oh.”

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, “That’s all you could say?”

“I’m still processing everything you just said, Lizzie.” Hope touched her furrowed eyebrows, “So you guys are saying that I “marked” Josie because she got my scent?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” MG confirmed.

Hope expressed in disbelief, “That’s ridiculous.” 

“It’s not, though,” Landon suddenly chimed in. Everyone looked at him.

“I mean, it also happened to me. It’s the wolf’s scent of Raf that helped me survive this school,” he said. Seeing that the tribrid was unconvinced, the bird continued, “When I first started living here, there were still some students here who were wary of me. But the moment they come close to me, I guess they would smell Raf’s scent on me and back off. Especially around the time when Raf was the alpha.”

This revelation made Hope think. She slowly remembers Landon’s scent was almost similar to Rafael's.

Josie hesitantly asks, “So you’re saying you have been marked by Raf?”

“I won’t call it marked, it’s more on I’m under his protection so other people won’t dare to touch.”

“So you’re telling us that your ex-girlfriend did just that to my sister, who also happens to be your ex-girlfriend?” Lizzie adds.

“Lizzie,” the brunette reprimanded her twin.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Landon shrugged. He saw Wade at the entrance of the cafeteria looking for him, “And it's my time to go.” 

Looking over MG, “You should let me read those new issues.” He then looked at the twins and then on his ex-girlfriend and smiled, “Hope.” Hope smiled tightly back.

“See you guys later.” When Landon was out of the cafeteria, Lizzie’s attention was on Hope, “See, you definitely marked my sister.”

“I didn’t- can we, like, find a different term? You're making it sound like I claimed Josie as mine or something.” The tribrid expressed.

This made Josie blush. _Hope claiming me?_

The blond twin rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you are the reason my sister’s love life is not blooming. Your cockblocking her chances of winning a lottery, Mikaelson.”

Before Hope could retort, MG whispered something in Lizzie's ear. Hope could barely hear it but she kind of heard the words _‘date’_ and _‘reservation’_. Lizzie then looked at her watch and realized something, _Maybe they have a date later_ , the tribrid thought.

It was MG who stood up first, then followed by Lizzie, “You should be thankful, Mikaelson, I have important plans to attend to today.” She looked over her twin, “Jo, we are not finished.”

She marched off to the hallway first while MG was trailing behind. The vampire then turned around and winked at them.

“See you guys.” He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Josie talk next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished writing this a while ago. Lol.
> 
> Please don't mind the mistakes, as I didn't proofread this at all.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one.

Hope felt relief the moment the couple left the cafeteria. She didn’t realize she was a bit worked up with everything that just happened. Who wouldn’t?

Scent?

Marked?

She is still having a hard time wrapping her head around the revelations a while ago, but in some ways, it makes sense. And she has mixed feelings about it. She’s a bit glad that through her scent, Josie is protected from other supernaturals, but this might also cause problems in the future. If Josie has her scent, the brunette twin might be a potential target by the enemies of her family in the future.

She doesn’t even want to think much about it.

Another would be Josie’s...uuhhh... _love life_. A part of her is sorry that she might have caused her friend’s chances of romance equals to zero, but another part of her is proud that she can keep Josie as hers.

_Hers_.

Hope closed her eyes. She tries to remove that thought away.

Josie is not hers. 

She never was.

Josie is her own person.

She doesn’t belong to anyone.

Yes, she has feelings for the brunette, but that doesn’t mean she would be _selfish_ enough to actually keep her as her own. 

Hope sighed heavily, this is not the kind of morning she planned at all. She wanted to have a peaceful morning, with Josie, and maybe talk about stuff. But nope, from the headmaster to Lizzie, things are definitely not going her way.

She was most worried about the girl beside her. 

Josie.

She hadn’t spoken a word for a while, even since the revelation earlier.

“Jo?” Hope carefully tapped the shoulder of the brunette, “Huh?”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, just...I’m thinking...about everything.”

Hope then faced her, “If this is about the mark thing,” she holds her hand, “I’m sorry”

Josie was taken aback, “Why are you apologizing?”

“Well, the issue with your romance-”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s okay, I don’t blame you.” Josie sighed heavily, “Lizzie’s just...nosy, extremely nosy. Especially with my love life.” 

"Well, if her theory is right, then I might be the cause of your _unproductive_ romance."

Josie chuckled, "It's really okay. It's not like I'm ready to handle any kind of romantic relationship now."

"Still, I don't want my scent to affect you in any way."

Josie puts her hand on Hope's arm for assurance, "Believe me, Hope. You are not affecting my life in any way. And besides," she gave the tribrid a smug smile, "I kind of liked the idea of you protecting me."

Hope slightly blushed with this comment. She didn't expect that kind of response from the brunette.

"Just don't mind much what Lizzie's saying." Josie leaned back on her seat, defeatedly said, “I guess with the lack of monsters to attend to, she now focused on my affairs.”

Chuckled dryly, Hope nodded in understanding, “looks like it wasn’t just me who was affected by the Malivore loss.”

Josie looked at Hope and was confused, “Affected?”

Hope looked away, as she sat uncomfortably on her seat, “After Malivore’s death, I had been,” she paused and tried to find the right words to say, “not myself. I had been on the edge, moody, and restless.” She sighed heavily, “I felt like I was also losing control of my own powers. It was a struggle.”

She glanced at Josie, "It's the reason why your dad checked up on me this morning," She looked back on her hands and played with her rings, "I caused some ruckus at the Mystic Grill a few days ago. I had a huge fight with Landon and I snapped at him in public. It was bad, Josie." She sighed heavily once again, "Good thing, Kaleb and MG were there to ease the crowd."

Josie was shocked, she didn’t know Hope was going to something all this time. She cursed internally for not being there for her friend. Then, she remembered what her sister said earlier, _If you are inferring about Hope's lame relationship with bird boy, NEWS FLASH, they already broke up two days ago._

“Lizzie told me,” Hope looked at her, urging her to go on, “that you and Landon broke up. Is that true?” Hope closed her eyes and silently cursed on the blonde twin, of course, Lizzie would spill the beans to Josie before her. “Yes. We broke up.”

“I’m so sorry, Hope.” Hope looked at Josie, “Why are you apologizing?”

“I wasn’t there for you all this time. If I had known you were having a hard time-”

Hope held both Josie’s hands and looked straight into her eyes, “Hey, it’s okay. You had your own reasons as to why you avoided me all week and I respect that. And besides,” the tribrid smiled at the brunette, “You already said sorry to me yesterday.”

Josie furrowed her brows, she doesn’t remember asking for forgiveness from the tribrid, “I did?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t...remember.”

Hope chuckled, “Well, you were quite drunk at that time.”

This made Josie’s eyes widen. She was really with Hope last night. She fully faced the tribrid and asked, “Can you tell what happened last night?”

“What?”

Josie looked down at her hands, “I couldn’t remember much of what happened last night. All I know are accounts from different people.” She then looked straight at Hope, “If I was with you last night, then maybe you can enlighten me on what happened last night.”

Hope was about to speak when she remembered how they almost kissed last night. She cleared her throat and looked away from the brunette. She tried to think of a proper way of telling her what happened last night. “I...I wasn’t with you all night.”

"What?"

Hope looked at the brunette once again and explained, "When I found you, you were already all over that wolf, dancing on the second floor."

"Oh," Josie was a bit dispirited. Hope immediately notices the change in her behavior, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess, I was kind of hoping to know more about what happened between me and," she stopped when she realized she was about to spill on Hope. "Between you and?" Hope slowly asks.

Josie sighs, she just can't afford to lie with the tribrid. She slowly mumbled, "Jessica."

Hope furrowed her brows, "Jessica? You meant _the vampire,_ Jessica?"

"Yeah."

"Wait. She's the vampire Lizzie and MG talked about a while ago?"

Josie grimaced, "Yes."

Hope scoffs, "Jo, her? Really? She's like...the bitchiest vampire I met in this school. She's on par with Alyssa, in terms of cruelty, especially on the wolves."

"Please don't remind me," Josie buries her face with her hands, totally embarrassed, "Everyone's been telling me how bitchy she was." 

Hope silently chuckled looking at her friend, "As long as you didn't do anything that you would regret more-"

"That's the problem, Hope," Josie mumbled. She slowly looked at her friend, "She said that we did something last night, but I can't remember." 

Hope felt like her soul just left her body. She can't believe what she was hearing from her best friend.

_They did something...last night?_

She was still trying to accept that Josie had her time with that wolf-boy, but now, there's a vampire. And they did something. _What was that something?_ Hope was trying to compose herself, and not let her emotions go out of control. "Something?" Her voice faltered a bit, but she tried to keep it neutral.

Oblivious, Josie continued to share what Jessica said, "Yeah, she said we had a _good time_ last night." 

Hope gulped. She's not liking what she's imagining at all. Not at all. Whatever Josie and that bitch vampire did last night, it's making her blood boil. Her control is slowly slipping away, "Good time?"

"Yeah," it was then Josie notices the change in Hope, "Hope, are you okay?"

The tribrid inhaled and tried to appear alright in front of Josie, "Yeah." She gave the brunette a tight-lipped smile in assurance.

Josie stared a bit at her friend, reading her. She's convinced that the tribrid wasn't okay, but she's not that sure. _I might be seeing things_ , she thought. 

She continued to ask the tribrid about last night, "Hope?"

"Hmm?"

"About last night," Josie eyed her friend carefully, "Did I?" She has a feeling that she might have done something last night. "Did I do something embarrassing last night?"

Hope stared at her best friend, everything that had happened last night flashed in her eyes. From Josie's drunken confessions to the almost kiss. Oh, the kiss.

"Hope?"

Hope clears her throat and says, "You did...said some interesting stuff last night."

Josie internally panics. She was already beating herself up for carelessly making out with several people, and now, Hope is confirming she might have said some stuff last night. 

_Oh no. What if I confessed my feelings last night?_

"Did I..." Josie stutters and looked at her hands, "Uhhhmm...What did I say?" She mumbled.

Hope looked at Josie softly, _She must be nervous_. She reached out and held Josie's hands, "Hey, you don't have to worry. You didn't say anything controversial."

The brunette slowly glanced at her best friend, trying to hide her embarrassment. Hope gave her an assuring smile before saying, "You told me first how Lizzie encouraged you to enjoy and let loose last night." The tribrid tilted her head to the side and smirked teasingly, "Which clearly, you did."

Josie nudged the shoulder of the tribrid, which caused the latter to chuckle. 

Hope then continued, "You also revealed that you did those things because they are a good distraction." She looked at Josie carefully. This was one of the things she wanted to know. 

When Josie heard this, she looked away again. She knew she couldn't trust her drunk self to keep her mouth shut. She sighed heavily. Hope could see how uncomfortable the topic was to Josie, so she proceeded, "The next thing you shared was about how happy other people were, except you."

"You mentioned Jade and how happy she is now with Wendy, how your sister and MG are in love with each other," Hope then looked at their joined hands, "and you also shared how happy I was with Landon."

"And lastly, you said that you are not needed anymore." Josie closed her eyes. She didn't expect she revealed her insecurities last night.

Hope then proceeds to cup Josie's cheeks, which forces the brunette to look directly at the tribrid, "Jo, I want you to listen to what I will say."

“It’s true that both Jade and Lizzie are now happy with their respective partners, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get your happy ending, too.”

"I don't know what triggered you to think that you are not needed anymore. But you should know this. You are loved. You are needed. Your family needs you. Your friends need you."

Hope caressed Josie's cheeks and softly said, "I need you."

"Know that you also deserve all of the happiness in the world." She continues, “And I will make sure of that.”

Josie felt every word Hope said to her. She felt loved, needed.

Maybe she does have a shot at happiness.

Hope then hugged her tightly, which she reciprocated.

“You are not alone, Josie,” the tribrid whispered, “You have me. And I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.”

Josie closed her eyes and sighed. She felt contentment, in the arms of the person she loves the most.

As much as she wanted more from their relationship, she doesn’t want to lose what she already has with the tribrid.

“Thank you, Hope.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie's eyes widened. She didn't expect Hope to do this and pin her down on the couch. "Wha- What are you doing, Hope?"
> 
> Hope tilted her head to the side, still smirking, "You did this to me too, Jo, remember?" She then looked at the brunette's kissable lips and whispered, "I'm just returning the favor."
> 
> "H-hope..." The Gemini twin was left stunned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update!!!  
> I dunno what I ate to trigger this or where my motivation came from...I just felt like writing. lol
> 
> I hope you guys will enjoy this. :)

“Ugh, I’m so tired,” the brunette collapsed on the couch.

Both Josie and Hope were training outside the Old Mill, as the former wants to learn how to fight without magic. “We haven’t even moved past the basics,” Hope chuckled as she sits beside the younger girl.

Still panting, Josie kicked Hope's leg, “You're cruel.” Hope raised her eyebrow, "We really need to work on your stamina first." Josie kicked her again.

Hope continues to laugh.

Both enjoyed the silence and peace surrounding the Old Mill. Josie then breaks the silence, "This is nice."

"Yeah."

Josie breathes in air and sits up. She felt she's well-rested enough and was ready to start the training again, "Let's get on it again, I'm ready."

Hope just looked at her, with emotions Josie can't decipher. A minute later, the tribrid replies, "I think we should do something more exciting than training."

"Exciting?" The brunette was confused. She couldn't think of any other activity they could do in the Old Mill other than training. Hope only gave her a smirk and then climbed on top of her.

Josie's eyes widened. She didn't expect Hope to do this and pin her down on the couch. "Wha- What are you doing, Hope?"

Hope tilted her head to the side, still smirking, "You did this to me too, Jo, remember?" She then looked at the brunette's kissable lips and whispered, "I'm just returning the favor."

"H-hope..." The Gemini twin was left stunned. The younger girl doesn't understand what's going on anymore. All she could see is Hope looking at her and her lips like a predator, and she's the prey. 

"Isn't this what you wanted?" The auburn-haired girl seductively whispered. Josie gulped.

She does want this, but she won't admit that aloud. She also doesn't understand how they got into this position.

Hope slowly leans down onto the brunette, but abruptly stops before touching the brunette's lips. She ghosts around Josie's lips like she's waiting for the brunette for permission.

Josie gets clouded by her own desire. She closes her eyes and moves forward to meet Hope's lips.

But before their lips meet, Josie woke up from her fever dream. Slightly panting, she was shocked to see only darkness. She sits up and looked around, it was still dark. She looked over to her right and she saw her sister still fast asleep.

Slowly, reality kicks in. 

She was in her room, in her own bed. 

She was just dreaming.

Dreaming about Hope, and them, almost kissing.

_What?_

Everything...was just a dream?

Josie slumped back to her bed and stared straight on to the ceiling, "What the hell?"

* * *

Josie grabs a glass of water and leans her back on the island in the kitchen. She couldn't sleep again after her dream.

Yes, she had her fair amount of _intense_ dreams about Hope, but it had been a while, so this took her by surprise. Also, this new dream of hers, there was something off about it.

She sighed heavily. 

After their talk last weekend, things were better again between her and the tribrid. They were hanging out again. From studying together to having movie nights, the brunette loved every minute of it.

She doesn't want this to be broken again.

It was only a few days ago when they decided to do the physical training. Josie felt the urgency to know how to protect herself, especially when she doesn't have any magic source to siphon. Of course, Hope happily helps her.

What she didn't expect was that it would bleed into her dream.

It made the Gemini twin confused. 

They usually do their training in the gym or at the docks. And lately, the Old Mill is more of a sanctuary for Josie during the day, especially when she waits for Hope as the latter takes her time wolfing out in the woods. Did she mix up both settings in her dream? What was more confusing was the latter half of her dream. What was that?

Hope went on top of her and tried to kiss her. Josie shakes her head and tries to forget. She knows that the real Hope would never do that.

However, the words the dream Hope said in her dream intrigued her.

_You did this to me too, Jo, remember?_

_I'm just returning the favor._

She was confused. Is her dream implying that something similar happened before? 

She tried to think back, and she could only think of her fog memories from last week as the only reason.

_But that is impossible._

Nothing like that happened to her. She was sure of it. After all, she was starting to remember her drunken escapades.

These past few days were quite interesting, to say the least. She was able to remember her time with the wolf, Brock, and begrudgingly, with the vampire, Jessica. She can now confirm that nothing went overboard other than making out and some intense inappropriate touching. And she can also confirm that what happened in her dream didn't happen with either of the two.

However, there are still memories from that night she can't remember, specifically, her time with Hope. The majority of her memory with Hope that night was still vague. However, she could remember the tribrid's voice, her blue ocean eyes, her soft touch, and a bit of their talk. But she feels like she's forgetting something important.

_What if it's connected?_

Her dream and fogged memories.

She closed her eyes and tried to force her brain to remember.

Then suddenly, she remembered Hope being pinned on the couch leaning forward.

"Josie?"

Josie snaps out of her thoughts and looks over her shoulder, only to see Hope, wearing a maroon V-neck shirt and grey sweatpants, approaching her. "What are you doing here in the kitchen at this hour?"

Josie blinked for a bit as she couldn't believe that the subject of her thoughts is now with her in the kitchen. She reluctantly faced the tribrid, "Oh, I grabbed some water." She tightly smiles at her friend, "I woke up from a dream." Hope looked worried, so Josie reassured her, "It's not a bad dream." 

Hope was eyeing her for a second before nodding.

"How about you?" Josie asks.

Hope shrugged, "I was just from the woods."

"You wolfed out?" Hope nodded.

Josie was confused. She was sure that they spent their whole afternoon in the Old Mill already, "But you wolfed out already."

Hope went to grab her own glass of water, "Yeah, well." She sips on her glass and says, "I couldn't sleep. So I went out again and tried to wear myself out to exhaustion."

Josie was observing the tribrid as she drank her water. She then recalls how Hope tends to sleep from time to time during their classes (not like it affects her grades, anyway) and sometimes was out of it during breakfasts. "Hope, are you struggling to get some good night's sleep again?"

Hope glanced at Josie and was about to lie, but decided to tell the truth, "It's...not that bad compared to last week."

"Not getting enough sleep is bad, no matter what's the capacity."

Hope looked down at her drink and mumbled, "I thought I recovered from it." She looked up again and smiled sadly at her friend, "I guess it might take a long time before I could fully move on from this supposed Malivore loss and get enough sleep."

Josie felt sorry for Hope. She knows how hard these past months were for her best friend. Now that Malivore is gone, issues are still there to torment her friend. She doesn't want that. She wants Hope to be free from all of these and move on. She deserves it, after all.

"Did you try to drink something? To calm yourself or your wolf or something?" The brunette curiously asks.

"I did. I asked Aunt Freya for different kinds of tea or drinks to help me and my sleep, but nothing works." Hope sighed heavily.

Josie went closer to Hope, and half embraced her for comfort. Hope then rested her head on Josie's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence.

Out of nowhere, Josie thought of something, "How about I sleep with you tonight?"

Hope was startled. She removed her head from the brunette's shoulders and stared at her, "Huh? What?"

Josie silently curses herself for randomly blurting out ideas from her mind, "I-I mean," she tries to find a legit reason to sleep with her friend in one bed. "You slept well when we shared the bed together last week," she looked down on her glass, hiding her rising intense blush on her face, "and you didn't have any sleeping problems when we accidentally slept during the two movie nights in my room." 

The Gemini slowly glanced at her friend, who was looking at her intently the whole time, "Maybe, you just need a companion to share the bed with. I could be that companion for tonight if you want to."

Josie gulped, she didn't really think this one through. She looked away again, afraid of what Hope's reaction would be. She just hopes her friend won't notice how nervous she was, and would figure out her real intent of the proposed idea.

Yes, she just wants to sleep and wake up beside the tribrid, okay? Is that too much to ask?

Of course, Hope would notice the little changes in Josie's behavior. The intense blush, fidgeting, and avoiding looks. She noticed them. She also picked up the fast beating of her friend's heart. However, she doesn't understand why Josie would be nervous around her.

She then thought of the younger girl's proposed idea. She did have a good night's sleep when she's around the girl. It wasn't just that, she always feels calm when she's around her best friend. Are her feelings for the brunette associated with her lack of sleep and control? If that's the case, then this idea could help shed more light on the matter.

"Okay."

Josie immediately looked at the tribrid the moment she heard the response. "What?"

Hope repeats her answer, "Okay." She elaborated more, "Your idea seemed logical. So I'm on board with it."

Josie was shocked, she didn't expect Hope would agree. "Are you sure? What if it backfires?"

Hope chuckles, "Jo, we already had a lot of sleepovers before. This one won't be different." She then shrugs, "If it backfires, then it backfires." The older girl tilts her head to the side, smiling at her best friend, "At least we tried, right?"

Josie relaxed. Of course, this wasn't their first time sharing a bed together. She was just panicking for nothing. "Okay."

Hope offered her right hand to Josie, "Let's go?" The brunette smiled and took it.

As they were about to reach the hallway, the tribrid remembered something, "Wait, how about your sister?"

Josie just shrugged, "Lizzie sleeps like a log these days, I could just go back to our room later a bit earlier so that she won't notice." Hope was a bit skeptical about the younger girl's answer, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity to sleep next to her. "Okay."

* * *

Both girls are now settling down on Hope's bed. Josie sets a couple of alarms on her phone while Hope turns off her bedlight.

"So, how do we do this?" Hope asks her friend.

"Huh?"

"This is your idea, remember?"

"Oh, okay, uuhhmm," Josie contemplates before suggesting, "Do you want to cuddle?"

Hope raised an eyebrow, "You cuddling me or the other way around?"

"I think it would be best if I cuddle you, I mean," she smugly replied, "I am taller."

"Ouch,” The tribrid acted like she was hurt, “Using your height against me, I see."

"We both know you're a certified little spoon." Both chuckled. 

Hope then turned around and let Josie softly wrap her arms around her. She then felt relaxed. She will never admit it aloud, but she loves cuddles, especially when Josie is spooning her. Even though she is a tribrid, the most powerful supernatural ever existed, it was only when she is sleeping in the arms of the brunette when she feels the most relaxed. She could just let go of everything and would be consumed by euphoria in the arms of Josie.

"Is this okay?" the brunette softly whispered as she scoots closer, closing whatever gap was there between them.

"Yes," the tribrid said softly, "very okay."

* * *

On a quiet morning, a sound alarm slowly disturbs the girls who were sleeping soundly.

It was Hope who first heard the first alarm going off. She slowly opened her eyes and adjusted to her surroundings. It was already morning.

She actually slept well. 

She then felt a set of arms wrapped around her. This made her smile.

_Josie._

She slowly turned around, making sure not to wake the younger girl, who was still sleeping soundly. She stared at the brunette, admiring every corner of her magnificent face. She slowly tucked a strand of hair behind Josie’s ear, softly touching her cheeks.

She's in love with this girl.

The more she spends more time with Josie, the more she falls in love with her. Everything about her is beautiful. She's worried that her feelings would get in the way of her friendship with the younger girl, but she can't help but fall deeper.

She slowly sinks herself in Josie's neck and wraps her arms around the brunette. Instinctively, Josie reciprocates by holding the tribrid closer.

This brought a smile to Hope's face. She knows Josie is not hers, and in the future, someone would own Josie's heart. But for now, she will not think much about it and will enjoy the present. To just enjoy her time with the girl. 

The second phone alarm slowly rings. It was a bit louder than the first, and this time, Josie slowly woke up.

"Ugghh," the brunette slowly reached out to her phone to turn off the alarm. She sighed heavily, knowing that she needs to leave soon. 

"Stay," Hope said this as she sinks more in Josie's arms.

Josie softly chuckles at the older girl in her arms, "As much as I want to," she sighed again, "Lizzie would notice I'm not in our room, and I don't want to listen to her endless rant."

Hope then slowly backs away and sighed, "I know."

Josie, now fully awake, stared at the tribrid, entranced by how beautiful she was. "Is there something on my face?" Hope innocently asks.

Josie shakes her head. She clears her throat as she tries to control her tongue and not spill how much she loves the tribrid, "Were you able to sleep well?"

"Yeah," Hope sweetly smiles, "It was the best sleep I had in a while." Hope then slightly bit her lower lip before smirking, "Looks like your idea works, after all."

The brunette grins in response, "Yeah." Both of them laughed for a bit before they got comfortable with just them staring at each other.

No one could pinpoint who did it first, but the gap between them slowly reduces. It was like an invincible magnetic pull; they couldn't control themselves. They both desired each other so much, unconsciously, they leaned for a kiss.

Out of nowhere, knocks were heard at Hope's door. 

This snaps both back to reality.

"I-I-I'll get the door." Without looking at the other girl, Hope immediately got up from her bed and proceeded to the door.

Josie, on the other hand, was blushing furiously. She couldn't function right. _Did we almost kiss just now?_

Josie's attention was caught when she heard Hope's slightly high-pitched voice, "Aunt Rebekah?" 

She sits up from the bed, confused.

  
She then saw Rebekah Mikaelson, eyeing her from the door. "Oh, I didn't know you have a _guest_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooohohohoho
> 
> Rebekah Mikaelson is here!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, Josie."
> 
> "What about her?"
> 
> "Are you really just friends? You know, you can tell me anything." Hope rolled her eyes. "I don't know what Aunt Freya told you about me and Josie, but nothing is going on between us."
> 
> Of course, Rebekah doesn't believe her. From what she witnessed earlier, it was clear to her that there was something between the two, but she digresses. "If you say so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! New update!
> 
> Personally, I am a bit unsatisfied with this chapter. I will make sure to make up for it in the next.
> 
> Still, I hope you guys enjoy this.

"Oh, I didn't know you have a _guest_." 

Hope notices how the other Mikaelson was eyeing the brunette inside her room. She got in between the view and tried to catch the attention of her aunt, "Auntie Bex, what are you doing here? I thought your flight would arrive later in the evening."

Rebekah raised her eyebrows and acted hurt, "Not happy to see me, my sweet niece? I am hurt."

"It-It's not like that." Hope clears her throat, "I just...It would be nice if you would inform me beforehand. I could have prepared more for your arrival, Auntie Bex."

Rebekah chuckled at her niece, "It wouldn't be a surprise anymore if I inform you beforehand, love."

The older Mikaelson put her hands onto Hope's shoulders and said, "There had been a change of plans." She then notices that the other girl is approaching them at the door, "Oh, hello there." She looked at her niece, "Would you care to introduce me to your... _guest_?"

Hope immediately looked back and saw Josie coming over to the door. She slightly opens the door more to let her aunt face the brunette and clears her throat, "Ah, Aunt Rebekah, this is Josie."

The younger girl awkwardly waves and shyly introduces herself, "Hello, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Oh, please, dear. Call me Rebekah." She greeted the brunette with a hand for a handshake, which the latter accepts. "Hhmmm, you must be one of Caroline's." Rebekah inquires. Josie tightly smiles.

It wasn't a secret to the brunette about the beef between her mother, Caroline, and the older Mikaelson. She had heard a lot of _interesting_ stories from her Mother about her encounters with the Mikaelsons. A part of her is always scared, borderline terrified, with the Original family. The stories in the school books don't even help at all. However, with Hope being her best friend, she also heard a lot of amazing stories about the family and how they always do everything for each other. _Always and Forever_ , that was the Originals family motto. Josie finds that really endearing, and she can't help but be fascinated by them.

"So, you guys are?" Rebekah smirks. "She's my friend, Auntie Bex," Hope immediately answered. The blonde gazed at the brunette, "Huh, _fri_ _end..._ " She glances over to her niece, who was standing at the door, uncomfortably, "That's _nice_ . I never had any experience doing _sleepovers_ with a _friend_ before." Hope rolls her eyes at her aunt, understanding what her aunt was implying.

Josie, noticing the upcoming awkwardness, immediately tried to find a reason to excuse herself. She looked at her phone and saw the time, "Oh, shoot. The time." She looked at Hope first and touched the tribrid's arm, "I need to go before Lizzie wake's up." She then looked at the older Mikaelson, "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Mikae-."

"Rebekah."

The brunette sheepishly nodded, "Rebekah." As she was about to go, Hope held onto her hand, which caused Josie to look back at her friend, "Breakfast, later?" Hope asked her softly with a smile. This made Josie blushed a bit.

She hasn't really recovered yet, from there almost kissed a while ago. And now, Hope was holding her hand, asking her softly. She was internally melting.

She immediately felt the stares of both the Mikaelsons, as she hasn't answered yet. "Ye-yeah," she stuttered, "Of course."

* * *

Josie gently opened the room and peeked inside. After noticing that her younger twin was still at the bed sleeping, she internally sighed. She slowly went inside and carefully closed the door.

"Trying to be very sneaky, aren't we, sister?" The brunette froze. She closed her eyes and breathed, trying to compose herself before facing her sister. 

"Good morning, Lizzie." Lizzie was now sitting upright on her bed, with both arms crossed. "Where were you?"

The older girl contemplated for a minute if she should lie or not. Knowing how well her sister reads her, she told her the truth, "I was at Hope's."

Lizzie slightly raised her eyebrows, "Hope's? You slept in her room. Again? You didn't mention there was any sleepo-," the blonde suddenly widened her eyes, "Wait, are you sleeping with Hope behind my back? Are you guys dating now?" She scoffs at her sister, "Don't tell me this is another Penelope situation."

Josie widens her eyes in shock with what her sister was accusing her of, "What?? No!" She immediately denied the accusation. "I'm not dating Hope, I swear."

"There was a situation last night and," Josie tries to find the right words to say that would make her sister and make her understand, "I was just helping Hope."

Lizzie was now standing from her bed and was approaching the brunette, still crossing her arms, "Helping by sleeping with her?" 

"It's..." Josie heavily sighed, "It's nothing like that." She walked past her sister and sat on her bed. Lizzie followed her and also sat on the brunette's bed. Josie then starts to explain everything to her sister, except what happened early in the morning.

"You're saying, Hope had been restless and was having a hard time sleeping these past few days. So you offered to accompany her to sleep last night, and it worked?" Lizzie infers. The older twin nodded.

"That's interesting."

Josie was about to ask her sister about what interests her when they heard a knock on their door. The door opens, and Caroline greets them, "Hello girls."

"Mom!" Both girls got up from the bed and went straight to their mom. They hugged her hard, it's been more than a year since they last saw their mom. Caroline sighed in relief, "I miss you guys so much."

It was Josie who backed away first and asked, "Mom, you should have told us you are coming back. We could have picked you up at the airport." Lizzie agreed.

She caressed the cheeks of both the twins, "Oh, my girls. I wanted to surprise you guys. And besides," she added. "I got a ride for free." This left the twins confused until Josie remembered her earlier encounter with another Mikaelson.

"You were with Rebekah Mikaelson," Josie inferred, which confused her younger twin, "Wait? The Rebekah, as in Hope's fashion icon Aunt? One of the Original Vampires?" Josie nodded to her sister. "Woah."

"Wait, Josie. How did you know Rebekah is here?" Caroline was looking at the brunette, confused.

Josie realized her slipped and was silently panicking how she could explain. She tried to talk her way out of it, but no words would come out of her mouth. "She slept over at Hope's, Mom," Josie was stunned. Her sister was spilling on her behalf. But before Josie could react, Lizzie immediately added, "They had an assignment together, so Josie slept over there to finish on time. She must have met Hope’s aunt on her way out."

Josie blinked. Her sister actually helped her. She stared at Lizzie, and the younger twin just winked at her. The older twin then silently sent a _thank you_ to Lizzie, telepathically. Caroline just nodded in understanding. She seemed to buy the lie. 

"I won't hold you both for long. You still have classes to attend to." The vampire kissed her daughter's cheeks goodbye, "I will be requesting Alaric to relieve you both later after lunch so that we could bond and go out." This made the twins really happy. She then went on her way to the headmaster's office.

\----------

Hope let her Aunt in. Rebekah looked around her niece's room and noticed how it was different from the pictures Freya took years ago. "You changed the layout of your room?"

"It's a long story."

"Hmm." The Aunt then notices the pictures posted at the corkboard on top of Hope's desk. It was full of pictures, some of their family, but most of it where Hope's _friends_. The older Mikaelson did notice something, the majority of Hope's pictures of her friends have Josie in it. "You really are your father's daughter," Rebekah whispered while chuckling.

She then settled on Hope's chair. She looked over her niece, who was now finished fixing the bed, "So, _Josie_."

"What about her?"

"Are you really just _friends_? You know, you can tell me anything." Hope rolled her eyes. "I don't know what Aunt Freya told you about me and Josie, but nothing is going on between us."

Of course, Rebekah doesn't believe her. From what she witnessed earlier, it was clear to her that there was something between the two, but she digresses. "If you say so."

Hope was now sitting on her bed comfortably, "So, what were the changes of plans you were saying a while ago?"

Rebekah then crossed her arms and said, "When I met Caroline in Paris, she told me about Malivore and the monsters you children had been fighting all this time," Hope stiffened at this, she didn't expect this would be the topic they would be discussing now. "Why didn't you mention any of this to me or to your uncle Kol, Hope?"

Out of the family, it was only Freya (by extension, Keelin) who was aware of everything that was happening in the school. The tribrid wasn't planning on letting them on the loop, but after her jumping into Malivore and erasing her existence, she owes it to her aunt and tells her everything. 

It was a hard process, but Freya was able to configure the spell Josie used to bring back the memories and made the reach worldwide. Hence, everyone who knew about Hope's existence remembered her.

Hope had a hard time coming up with a reason to cover up the loss of memories, but after a series of lies, Her relatives bought it. She also specifically asked her witch aunt not to tell them about the school's problem, too. Freya wanted to help them as much as she could, but she was also bound with a lot of responsibilities in New Orleans.

The tribrid gulped before speaking, "Auntie Bex, it's..." Rebekah raised her eyebrows, waiting for her niece's explanation. Hope heavily sighed, "I didn't want you guys to get involved and get hurt." She looked down at her hands and played around her rings, "I figured it was a problem created by us, students, here in the school, so I thought that we won't involve anyone and fix it ourselves." 

"You didn't want us to get involved, Hope?" Rebekah raised a bit of her voice in anger, "You died in the process. You died. What would your parents say about us letting their only child die without us knowing." Hope flinched at the mention of her parents. She looked at her aunt, she knew her Aunt would be pissed when knowing about this, but still, she could never be prepared for it. "Before you ask any questions, I noticed the influx of recent purchases from your account. I asked Freya about it. She tried to deny it at first, but she eventually told me the truth." Rebekah stood up and went near a corner of Hope's room, where a freezer was located. She opened it and she saw bags full of human blood. "So, when were you planning on telling me that you had transitioned?"

Hope was speechless, "I-", she doesn't really have any explanation about it. To be honest, she actually forgot about telling her other relatives about her being a vampire now. "I'm sorry, Auntie Bex."

Rebekah could only sigh, she could never be angry for too long at her niece. She went to Hope and hugged her, "You should be thankful that you are my favorite niece."

"I am your only niece, Auntie Bex." Hope sighed as she returned the hug.

The older Mikaelson broke off the hug and sat next to the younger girl. "How's the transition so far?" Hope looked away, "It was hard. I barely had any sense of control over my bloodlust. I couldn't even stomach animal blood." Rebekah winces at the thought of animal blood. "It took a lot of convincing until Dr. Saltzman allowed me to drink human blood. Still, it took a while before I couldn't fully control my powers." 

"I'm so sorry, Hope we weren't there for you."

"It's okay, Auntie Bex." She glanced at her Aunt, "It was Josie who was there for me the whole time." She played with her rings again. "She was the one who convinced Dr. Saltzman. I remembered her guilt-tripping him for using me as a shield against the monsters." She chuckled as she remembered the incident.

"Every time I was moody and was a mess because of my heightened emotions, she was there, grounding me. Even though she was also fighting her own demons, she never left my side."

Hope looked up, remembering an incident after killing a monster, "There was one time I totally lost control of my powers. I was scared," she sighed, "of myself. Of my powers. Everyone was trying to help me, getting my attention and reminding me to control. I was really trying," Hope closes her eyes remembering, "then Josie decided to go near me. Even though I told her to stay away, she was stubborn." She chuckled, "She told me she trusts me, that I won't hurt her."

"She trusts me with all her heart as I also trust her with mine. She siphoned some of my powers away until I was back to normal. She saved me." Hope fondly smiled as she remembered. "She's that amazing."

Rebekah smiled as she listened to her niece, _she is so whipped_ , she thought. She then casually asks her niece, "Why don't you confess your feelings for her, Hope?"

Hope absentmindedly answered, "I couldn't. I don't want to lose what I have with her now for these feelings." Rebekah smirked as her niece just admitted to having feelings for the brunette siphoner.

"And here I thought you said that nothing was going on between the two of you," Rebekah teasingly nudged the tribrid. "Wha-" Hope realized late that she just revealed to her Aunt the truth about her feelings for the brunette.

The older Mikaelson laughed, "Klaus would be ecstatic now. His own daughter and Forbes' daughter." She lightly pinches both cheeks of Hope, "Looks like you found your epic love now, Hope."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since Rebekah knew about Hope's growing feelings for Saltzman's eldest daughter, the teasing never stopped. Whenever Hope and Josie would hang out or be together, the blonde Mikaelson never forgets to lowkey tease her beautiful niece, and it's been driving the tribrid crazy. 
> 
> Hope appreciates the support that she gets from her Aunt, but she's not yet ready to confess. Yes, she is so sure of her feelings for the brunette, but she doesn't know if it would be reciprocated.
> 
> Josie is an amazing person, and she deserves every bit of happiness this universe could offer. However, Hope doesn't think she is worthy enough for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter more than necessary. Lol.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this one.

It's been days since the arrival of the Mikaelsons in the Salvatore School. 

Upon arriving, Marcel and Rebekah had an intimate but formal discussion with the headmasters of the school. It turns out, the couple didn't just visit Hope but also offered to help the soon graduates of the school to blend well in the outside society. Both Rebekah and Marcel had been traveling all over the world and had seen a lot. They decided to create a foundation to help people, but mostly supernaturals, in need. Now, the Mikaelsons plan on giving scholarships to the deserving Salvatore students. 

It's their way of giving back, they said.

This made Hope happy, as it let the other people see a different side of the Original Family, other than what was written in the history books.

However, there is a downside. Ever since Rebekah knew about Hope's growing feelings for Saltzman's eldest daughter, the teasing never stopped. Whenever Hope and Josie would hang out or be together, the blonde Mikaelson never forgets to lowkey tease her beautiful niece, and it's been driving the tribrid crazy. 

Hope appreciates the support that she gets from her Aunt, but she's not yet ready to confess. Yes, she is so sure of her feelings for the brunette, but she doesn't know if it would be reciprocated.

Josie is an amazing person, and she deserves every bit of happiness this universe could offer. However, Hope doesn't think she is worthy enough for her.

Good thing, Josie doesn't seem to notice. 

However, she did notice how Josie sometimes acts weird around her these past few days, like she's more careful and tense all the time. She asked the brunette about this, but Josie's answer is always about how Lizzie continues to stress her out. Hope doesn't believe her, though, but she digresses.

It was a Saturday when Hope and Marcel were sparring just outside of the Mikaelson Mansion in Mystic Falls. Ever since the Mikaelsons graced their presence in Mystic Falls again, Rebekah made sure to revamp their old mansion. 

"Ugh." Hope was slammed on the floor. "Oh, that sounds rough," Marcel smirked, "wanna go another round? Or let's take a break?" 

"No way in hell."

The tribrid slowly got up. She spits a bit of blood to the floor, "give me what you got, brother." Marcel shakes his head and is amused. "Not a fan of losing, huh."

"Oh, I'm not gonna lose."

_She is definitely a Mikaelson_ , he thought.

They continued to spar all afternoon. Hope was clearly enjoying her time, even though it looked like she's pretty much beaten up by Marcel. She admits it has been a while since she used all of her strength in fighting. She loves to train with Josie and some of her friends at school, but she always needs to be mindful of the strength she put out to prevent any accidents. Sparring with Marcel was a good change of pace for her since she could go all out. 

Ever since the night she and Josie shared the bed together, Hope is, again, having a hard time sleeping. She continues to be restless and agitated, but she doesn't want to involve Josie anymore. After their almost kiss that next morning, Hope knew her feelings for the brunette would be discovered if she's not careful.

Hope, again, slumped on the floor, very tired and beaten up. Marcel went near her and offered a hand, "let's take a break."

They went inside the mansion. Hope rested on the couch while Marcel went to the kitchen to grab some water and snacks. "Fighting you now is really different. You are more powerful," Marcel gave a water bottle to Hope, which the young Mikaelson accepts, "But for some weird reason, you are kind of sloppy. Is there a reason for that?" 

"Yeah, well, it's been a while since I went all out," Hope answers with heavy breaths. "I haven't got used to it yet, being a tribrid and all."

"That's understandable." Marcel sat beside Hope, "but you seem distracted. Is there something bothering you?" Hope just shrugs. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Hope stared at her step-brother, contemplating whether to ask or not, "Hope?"

Hope looked away uncomfortably, "It's nothing." Marcel patted Hope's head before saying, "Is this about the girl you are in love with?"

Hope immediately looked at him, taken aback, "Wha- no-"

"Rebekah told me about the girl, Hope." Hope heavily sighed as she looked down at her hands. "From what Rebekah told me, she seemed to be an amazing girl. And based on what I saw these past few days, she's good for you." He looked over the young Mikaelson, "What's stopping you from confessing, Hope?"

Hope was silent. This pushed Marcel to continue, "You know when I first met your aunt, I thought she was the most beautiful being I had ever seen.” He chuckled remembering the past, “even though I was still young, I declared my love for her. I asked her to marry me, shamelessly.” Hope smiled a bit thinking about it.

“I know it takes a lot of guts to confess, but if you really love her, just go for it.”

“It’s easy for you to say.”

Marcel laughed a bit, “You're Mikaelson, Hope. You’re supposed to be confident and proud.”

“That’s the thing, Marcel.” Hope looked at her step-brother, “It’s because I’m a Mikaelson that’s why I'm scared to confess.” Marcel was confused, “What do you mean?”

“We attract a lot of attention because of our name. Not only that, I am a tribrid, the only one in this world. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but one thing’s for sure, there will be people coming for me just for existing. I can’t put her through that,” Hope said defeatedly. 

She looked down and said, “she deserves better, Marcel. She deserves someone that would make her smile every day and not give her any more problems. She had suffered enough pain for a lifetime. I don’t want to add more to that.”

Marcel puts his hands over Hope’s shoulder and squeezed her, “It’s okay to be scared, Hope. Your thoughts are valid. But you are not the only one who has those fears.” Hope backed away from Marcel and properly faced him.

“Your fear of her getting hurt because of our name, it’s understandable. Your aunts and your uncle Kol experience that fear, even me.” He puts both his hands on Hope’s shoulder, “Like you, I will live an immortal life. Soon, once the Salvatores die, Rebekah will eventually get the cure to be human again. And I fear the day that she wouldn’t be at my side until the end of time. It’s a scary thought, but I won’t let those fears control me or even stop me from loving your aunt wholeheartedly.” 

He sighed and patted the younger girl’s head again, “We can’t predict the future, all we could do is to live in the now. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes we did and waste a lot of time, Hope. We all want what is best for you.” Hope glances at Marcel and mumbled, “I’m scared, Marcel. I didn’t expect I would love her this much. People I care about have a tendency to die on me, I don’t want to lose her.”

Marcel smiled sadly at Hope and embraced her, “It will be okay, Hope. You will be okay, and she will also be okay. She has you.”

Hope sighed in the arms of her brother, “I don’t want to force you or anything, but at least think about it. Okay?”

“Okay.”

* * *

These past few days had been quite stressful for Josie. After she spends the night at Hope's and their almost kiss the next morning, she was having a hard time controlling her feelings around Hope. She doesn't know how to act around Hope. She also doesn't know if she would bring the almost kiss up to their discussion or not. She's overanalyzing every action of the tribrid, trying to figure out if the other girl likes her too.

But all she gets are mixed signals.

Hope continues to be sweet and open to her, but the older girl is always like that to her. There are times when she does feel some tension between them, especially when they accidentally touched. But it disappears as fast as it appears.

Not only that, _the_ Rebekah Mikaelson, Hope's aunt, lowkey teases the both of them every time the older Mikaelson catches the two of them together. She tries to act like she's oblivious to it, but inside, she literally feels like she was about to get a heart attack. She doesn't understand at first why the blonde Mikaelson would tease them, but she figures that it was because the aunt literally caught them sharing the bed together.

Her problems don't end there. 

Josie continues to have those _intense_ dreams she has with Hope. What's worse is that every dream always ends up the same, Hope being on top of her and goes in for a kiss. What was weird was how the setting is different in every dream. There was one in the docks, the cafeteria, the library, in a random classroom, and last night was in her room. She was getting really frustrated, especially when her dreams get more and more intense, which results in her waking up very hot and bothered.

"You had a sex dream again last night, weren't you?" Josie froze while fixing her bed. She didn't expect those words to come out from Lizzie's mouth.

She nervously gulped first before looking over her sister, "Wha-what are you talking about, Lizzie?"

Lizzie rolls her eyes as she stands up from her bed, "You don't have to deny it, Jo. I heard you last night, loud and clear. You had a sex dream again."

Josie was internally panicking, this is not what she expected at all. "Lizzie..."

Lizzie was now in front of the brunette, crossed arms, "and it's about Hope, wasn't it?" Lizzie raised her eyebrows as she continued to inquire, "You're falling for her again, aren't you, sister?"

The older twin was tongue-tied. She tried to speak, but no words would come out. 

Lizzie sighed, “I figured that your crush for her might’ve come back.” The blonde sits down on Josie’s bed before continuing, “but it looks like it’s more than a crush now.”

Josie could only look at her twin. She continues to be tongue-tied, trying to figure out how she’s going to explain. Sensing the panic, Lizzie reaches out to both Josie’s hands and forces the older twin to sit down on the bed. “For your information, I am not mad about this.”

The younger twin paused for a minute before continuing, “Okay, I admit, I was definitely against this. Hope is a good person, yes, but she’s also a Mikaelson. She attracts trouble and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“However, I also know how she is good for you, Jo. She worries about you as much as I do. She cares so deeply about you and what you say. I know that she will always protect you, no matter what. She also sees you, all of you. And that itself is a huge plus.”

“And yes, she annoys me to death,” Lizzie rolls her eyes, “but I also know she’s always got my back.” The younger twin squeezes Josie’s hand, “That’s why I understand why you are falling for her, Jo.”

Josie bit her lip. 

She never intended to hide her feelings for the tribrid to her sister, but her negative thoughts continue to cloud her judgment. Even though she knows that Lizzie and Hope are now on good terms, she was still scared that her sister wouldn’t approve of her feelings for their friend.

But after hearing Lizzie’s remark, she can’t help but feel relief. She looked down at their joined hands and exhaled, “I like Hope, Lizzie. No, I think I love her.”

“I had liked a lot of people in the past, but with Hope, it’s different.” She looked at her twin, scared, “I had never felt this way before with anyone and it’s scary. I don’t know if she loves me too.”

Lizzie scoffs, “Oh please Jo. That tribrid is so in head over heels in love with you.”

Josie blushes, “You-you think so?”

Lizzie gave her a pointed look, “Duh! She looks at you like you are the only person who exists in this world. She stares at you like a creep in the corner. And didn’t you hear what I said before? She worries about you, sometimes, too much. Even though there’s nothing to worry about, she is still worried about your well-being. Overprotective much?” 

"It was amazing how you didn't pick those clues up," Lizzie rolls her eyes, "It was so obvious it makes me want to gag."

Josie was shocked to hear this. She never notices those signs at all. Maybe a part of her might've already known about the tribrid's possible feelings for her, especially after their almost kiss, but she doesn't want to conclude anything.

"Are you sure Liz? I really don't want to assume anything."

"Really, Jo. That dog is so whipped for you, it's sickening." Lizzie raised her eyebrows, "What does it take for you to believe that Hope loves you too?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, Liz, but," Josie stands up from the bed and walks aimlessly around, "This is Hope we are talking about. She is one of the most beautiful people in this school. Everyone falls in love with her. How could Hope, the most powerful supernatural, would fall for me?"

Lizzie sighed, "Self-deprecating much?" She stood up and held both of Josie's shoulders to speak to her, face to face, "Josette, listen to me. Hope, (pauses) maybe, is one of the most beautiful students in this school but so are you. Have you forgotten that we are twins, my dear sister? If I am very beautiful and _the_ number 1 most popular in this school, and so are you."

She smiled and squeezed Josie's shoulders in assurance, "And who wouldn't fall for you, Jo. You are the most selfless and kindest person I know. You always protect the people you love and put others' needs above yours. You are very smart and are at the top of our grade. You are also the most powerful witch in this school, even though we both are only siphons. You are that amazing, Jo. Hope is not that stupid not to fall in love with you."

Josie was silent. She was taking everything in. _Hope might be in love with me_ . _Hope is in love with me. She is in love with me._

The brunette whispered, “Hope is in love with me.”

“At last, Jo! You get it.”

“Uh Lizzie,” Josie was again panicking, “I-I don’t know what to do next?”

“What?”

“I mean, should I confess? How would I confess? I know that you convinced me that she likes me too, but I still can’t help but feel worried. Oh my god, what am I going to do?” Josie was blabbing. ”It would also be nice if Hope would confess. Would she confess? I don’t think she-”

“Jo!” Josie stopped her rambling and stared at her sister.

“You don’t have to worry much about that.” Josie was confused.

Lizzie triumphantly smiled, “I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys followed me on Twitter, then you guys would know how I had a hard time writing this new chapter. LOL.  
> It's all because of Winter. Ugh.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your smirking, that looks dangerous,” MG points out.
> 
> Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Don’t be a bummer, MG. I am just in awe of myself. I was able to come up with this kind of amazingly spectacular plan for Josie’s confession.”
> 
> MG furrowed his eyebrows, he loves Lizzie so dearly, but he also knows how...extra...she could be. “Let me see.”
> 
> Lizzie gave her notes to MG to check out. MG’s expression was unreadable, “You do know that Josie prefers simple but really romantic.“
> 
> “I know.”
> 
> MG raises the notes up, “This is not simple, Lizzie. And yeah, maybe it is romantic, but I think this is too much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated fast because I think I might not be able to in the next couple of days. My irl work is a pain in the ass...so yeee.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this unexpected chapter.

Lizzie loves to plan. She always likes to be prepared and be in control. She also loves to organize, especially events. She had been organizing most of the school events for quite some time now, and she knows she is really good at it.

However, when she told her sister earlier that she has a plan for Josie’s confession, she was actually bluffing. She didn’t intend to lie to her sister, but she internally panicked when she saw Josie being in distress, so she blurted out that she had a plan, even though she doesn’t have one.

Now, she is brainstorming the hell out of her mind, trying to come up with a really really good plan for her sister. After all, she doesn’t want to disappoint Josie, and she knows how her sister deserves this. After everything her sister went through, all the pain she had endured, Lizzie just wants her sister to be happy. If Hope is _the one_ for her sister, then she will do everything in her power for them to be together.

“You know, when you told me to meet you in your room, I thought we are going to spend some time together.”

“We are spending time together, MG.”

“Not like this.” Both MG and Lizzie were in the twin’s room. Rather than cuddling and watching movies, books and homework were laid out on the bed. They were doing a _study_ date, to MG's grimace.

Lizzie reached out to her boyfriend’s hand and said, “Babe, as much as I want to kiss and cuddle with you right now, you have a lot of homework to catch up to, so, chop-chop,” she patted her boyfriend’s cheeks. MG groans in defeat and continues to do his homework. Lizzie, on the other hand, continues to create the plan.

She knows her sister’s taste really well. Even though she doesn’t agree with most of it, she respects it. However, that doesn’t mean she won’t be adding a bit of flair and excitement. After all, Lizzie aims for this plan to succeed.

After an hour, Lizzie was proud of what she created. “Your smirking, that seems dangerous,” MG points out.

Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Don’t be a bummer, MG. I am just in awe of myself. With how amazing I am to be able to come up with this kind of spectacular plan for Josie’s confession.”

MG furrowed his eyebrows, he loves Lizzie so dearly, but he also knows how...extra...she could be. “Let me see.”

Lizzie gave her notes to MG to check out. MG’s expression was unreadable, “You do know that Josie prefers simple but really romantic.“

“I know.”

MG raises the notes up, “This is not simple, Lizzie. And yeah, maybe it is romantic, but I think this is too much.”

Lizzie just shrugs, “MG, if we follow Josie’s way then it would be boring. Remember, I don’t do boring.”

“But this is Josie’s moment. It’s supposed to be intimate, Lizzie, not some grand gesture like a marriage proposal or performance.”

The blonde rolls her eyes in response, “Believe me, this is what Josie needs to secure a yes from that dog.” She confiscates her notes from MG’s grasps, “and besides, I want this to be successful and grand. Let’s not forget that Hope is a Mikaelson. We don't know much about her taste, so we need to go all out.” She proudly announced.

MG has a bad feeling about this. He could only shake his head and sigh. “Well, I'm done with my homework. I want to grab something from the kitchen,” He stands up and looks over his girlfriend, “Do you want anything?”

“Maybe a sandwich and,”

“Orange juice?”

“Yes, orange juice,” Lizzie smiled. 

MG reciprocated the smile. He planted a kiss on Lizzie's forehead before leaving.

As the blonde twin was about to clean up the books on her bed, she heard a knock on the door, “Come in.”

“Hello, Elizabeth.”

Lizzie snapped her head to the door, shocked to see her visitor. “Mrs. Mikaelson,” she immediately stood up from her bed and properly greeted the older Mikaelson.

“Please, dear. Just call me Rebekah,” the blonde Mikaelson said as she approached the younger girl.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Rebekah smiled before talking, “Well, I didn’t mean to intrude or anything, I was walking down the hallway when I accidentally heard you and your boyfriend’s conversation.” Lizzie tensed up, _oh shit_. “You seemed to be working on something,” the older Mikaelson tilted her head to the side, while slightly smirking, “like Josie’s confession?”

Lizzie gulped. The presence of the Original Vampire already made her tense up, but now, knowing that the older woman also knows about Josie’s confession, she felt very exposed.

Rebekah seemed to notice Lizzie’s stiffness. She immediately subdues the situation, “I am not here to expose your plan or anything.” She smiled earnestly, “I’m actually here to offer you some help.”

“Help?”

“Yes,” the older Mikaelson held both of her hands together, “As you can see, I want what’s best for Hope, and so are you with your sister. Based on what I had witnessed during my stay here, it’s clear to me how much they like each other, but both are so afraid to make the first move.” She walked a bit closer to the younger girl, “If you have a plan to make them confess, and make it a success, then I want to contribute.”

Lizzie didn’t expect this at all. “Oh.”

“It’s still your choice, Elizabeth.”

The blonde twin thought about it. Even though initially, her plan was only to help Josie confess, Hope is also part of the equation. She also has feelings for her sister and hasn’t even dared to confess yet. Knowing that Rebekah Mikaelson is the aunt of Hope, and knows the tribrid more than anyone, a collaboration would indeed be needed to pull off a better plan.

Lizzie slowly smiles widely at the Original vampire before saying, “Looks like we will be working together from now on, Rebekah.”

The older Mikaelson just smirked, “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

* * *

Both Hope and Josie were in the docks, training. After 2 weeks of teaching the brunette the basics, the tribrid is now teaching hand to hand combat.

Josie was standing in a stance, focusing only on Hope’s movements, “Always remember, observe the enemy. Don’t be rash, and be patient.” 

“Noted.” 

Hope taunted Josie with various movements, which startled the brunette a bit, but tried to maintain her concentration. Josie saw an opening, and she went straight for a punch. However, Hope was faster. The tribrid immediately dodges the punch, grabs the brunette’s arm, and twists it on her back. Josie yelped in surprise. As Josie struggled to get away, Hope smirked before whispering, “good move, but don’t put too much power on your punch. Maintain control, so that you won’t tire yourself out immediately.” 

Hope’s breathing on Josie’s ear causes the brunette to malfunction for a second. It brought chills all over her body. It was too close, and it’s causing her to feel things that aren’t necessary as of the moment. In retaliation, she siphons a bit from Hope. This startled the tribrid and she wasn’t able to react immediately when Josie pinned her down on the floor.

“Cheater.”

“You didn’t say anything about not using my powers.”

Hope just chuckled, “Touché.”

As Josie was about to remove herself from the tribrid, she suddenly remembered the missing memories from what happened at the party.

_“I need you.”_

_Josie pouted. She doesn't need any false assurances, she had enough for a lifetime. “No, you don’t.”_

_“Yes, I do.”_

_“Please, Hope.” Josie starts to back away from the tribrid, “Stop this. Don’t get my hopes up and lead me on.”_

_"What? Leading you on?"_

_Full of pain, Josie expressed, ”I can’t take it anymore.”_

_“Jo, I don't understand what you're talking about”, the shorter girl was confused._

_Josie just shakes her head and laughs bitterly, “You really don’t get it, don’t you?”_

_Seeing the confused face of the tribrid, Josie suddenly yanked the other girl to the couch. Before Hope could even react, Josie climbed on top of her. “Wha-, Josie?”_

_The brunette holds her down, looking straight at her. “Hope,” she called her huskily._

_“Jo...what...”, the tribrid was at loss._

_"Hope,” Josie called out her name again. This time, with urgency, lust, and full of want._

_Josie was slowly leaning down onto her, but stopped midway, looking straight at Hope's eyes, like she's asking for permission._

_After some time, she thinks Hope gave in. She closed her eyes and was about to connect their lips, but then she felt being pushed away._

_Hope pushed her away._

_She wasn't wanted._

_Reality then sinks in._

_Josie realized what they were about to do, "I'm...sorry. I shouldn't..." She retreats away from Hope._

_"Wait..." Hope reached out to her, "No, it's not like that."_

_Josie noticed the presence of Landon, she moved away from Hope immediately, which caused her to stumble around._

_Josie was now feeling the effects of her excessive drinking. She was getting dizzier and dizzier at the moment._

_"Jo..." Hope called out to her._

_She looked at Hope one last time before passing out._

Josie was staring intently at Hope, she couldn’t comprehend what was going on. She just remembered something she shouldn’t have forgotten.

“Jo?” It was Hope’s concerned voice that brought her back to reality. The younger girl felt warmth on her right cheek, “Hey, are you okay?”

Noticing their current position, Josie immediately backed away from Hope. Still bewildered by what she just remembered, she couldn’t speak properly, “I..I..uuhhh...hmm..”

Hope slowly sat up and observed the brunette. Still concerned, she slowly reached out to Josie, only to be rejected. Josie abruptly stood up, “I-I need to go.”

The younger girl snatched all of her belongings and left the tribrid, confused.

* * *

Josie had been avoiding Hope, like a plague. It has been days since the incident in the docks. She knows she eventually needs to talk to her best friend, but she doesn’t know what to say.

In her room, she slumped further and further on her bed.

Now fully remembering everything, she is very embarrassed by what she did that night. She doesn’t understand why Hope didn’t tell her about their almost-kiss at the party, but a small part of her kind of understands that the other girl might have hidden it for her own sake. However, what occupied her thoughts was the pain she felt.

She also remembers the rejection of the kiss.

Hope pushed her away.

It hurts.

It hurts so bad.

Her sister might've convinced her that Hope’s in love with her a couple of days ago. But now, she wants to cancel the whole confession thing. It won't be worth it.

After all, Hope pushed her away once. 

She might do it again.

It made her scared. 

Really scared.

_What if Hope rejects me again?_

She doesn’t want to feel the pain of rejection again. She also knows that if the other girl rejects her, she might not recover. She loves Hope that much.

She buries her face on her pillows, trying to prevent herself from crying again.

Maybe this is really her fate. 

She could never get that true happiness she wanted.

The happiness she thinks she deserves.

Maybe she just needs to accept it already, that she’ll never get that happy ending she wished for herself.

She drowns herself with negative thoughts when, suddenly, she hears a knock on the door. She ignored it as she didn't want to talk to anyone, but the knocking didn’t stop.

She groans, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, sweetie.” Josie sat up in surprise. _Mom?_

When she stood up, she immediately tried to fix herself up, making sure she looked presentable.

She cleared first her throat before opening the door. She inhales, “Mom.”

Caroline smiled lovingly at her daughter, “Hi, sweetie.”

Josie opens the door to let Caroline in. “So, what brings you here, Mom?”

“Well, I am just here to check on you.”

Josie was confused, “Checked on me?”

“Lizzie mentioned recently to me that you are not feeling well.” 

“I’m good,” Josie tried to smile, ”just tired with school and all.” Caroline gave her a pointed look, “Josie, I know you. I know when something is bothering you” Josie gulped, she looked away from her mom and sat down on her bed. 

Caroline softens, “Baby,” she sits on Josie’s bed, facing her, “did something happen?” The brunette glanced at her mother but hesitated. She doesn’t know what to say and where to start.

The blond vampire stares at her daughter, understanding the hesitation. She laid her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder and carefully asked, “Is this about Hope?” 

Josie widened her eyes and looked over her Mom, at the mention of the auburn-haired girl’s name. She was confused as to why her Mom could figure out. “Mom...”

Caroline squeezed Josie’s shoulder in comfort, “I have eyes, Josie.” She smiled at her daughter, “Since my arrival, I noticed your closeness with Hope. At first, I didn’t mind it, as you mentioned before that you guys repaired your friendship. However, I haven't seen you hanging out with her anymore. I thought that maybe you both were just busy,” Caroline paused as Josie looked away, “but it’s more than that.”

“You have feelings for her,” Caroline inferred.

Josie closed her eyes, trying not to cry. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Mom. It’s not like she feels the same way.”

"Why would you say that?" Caroline was a bit confused. From what she observes for these past few weeks, she's quite sure Hope likes Josie too. 

Josie faces her mother and says, "Because it always has been like that. Penelope broke up with me and left me. Landon broke up with me and chose Hope. Jade also broke up with me, and now, she's happy with someone else." She looked away from her Mom, "Hope will also do the same. She will reject me, like the others." She laughs bitterly as her tears flow down her cheeks, "It's like I'm doomed from the start. I'm fated to never be happy."

“Oh baby,” Caroline embraces her daughter, letting the younger girl breakdown in her arms. Josie couldn't control her emotions anymore and just let it all out. The blonde vampire knew, to some extent, what was happening with her daughters. But she didn't expect that they, especially Josie, had been suffering this much. She should have come home sooner.

When she felt Josie had calmed down, Caroline slowly backed away. She carelessly wiped the younger girl’s tears away, “I want you to listen carefully to me, Josette. Okay?”

The younger girl nodded.

“There is no such thing as being fated to never be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy, and that includes you. You are not doomed from the start.” Josie gazed at her mother.

“These problems you are facing, the pain you are feeling, you are not alone in facing them. Everyone experiences them, too. It’s part of growing up.” 

“And whoever dictates our fate, that being gave these struggles to you because they know you are strong to overcome them and become a better person. You might feel all of this pain and suffering now, but I know you will go past it and stand up even stronger.”

Josie looks down, “But I’m tired, Mom. I’m tired of feeling all of these things. I’m tired of trying to be better.”

Caroline smiled sadly, “I understand, honey, I really do.” She embraced the brunette again. “It’s okay to break down sometimes, Josette. It is okay to ask for help when you feel overwhelmed. You don’t need to be the strong one.” The vampire lovingly kissed the girl’s forehead, “I am here, your dad is here. And your sister. I know she’s a handful, sometimes, but learn to rely on her too.”

“Hope is also there for you, too.” Josie froze at the mention of Hope’s name, “I don’t know how you came up with that conclusion that she doesn’t like you back, because, for me, she seemed to reciprocate your feelings as well.”

Josie backed away from her mother, bewildered, “What do you mean, Mom?” Caroline smiles softly at her, “I see the way she sees you, Josie. It’s more than friendship.” The mother then held both of her daughter’s hands, “I know how Mikaelson’s displays their affections. Through gifts,” Caroline glanced on her daughter’s neck, looking at the talisman, “and through actions.” 

She caresses Josie’s cheek, “I know you might be scared of being rejected again, but take a leap of faith, Josie. You deserve a shot in happiness, too.”

* * *

After her talk with her mother, Josie felt a bit lighter. She is still scared of confessing to Hope, but like what her mother said, she just needs to take a leap of faith.

She was walking in the hallway to the cafeteria for dinner when her sister, Lizzie, caught up with her, panting. “Thank god, you are here.”

Josie was confused, “Are you okay?”

Catching her breath, Lizzie immediately explained, “Josie, I don’t care anymore what’s going on with your head, but please, fix whatever you have going on with Hope. I don’t think I could handle it anymore.”

“What are you talking about, Lizzie? I don’t understand.”

“Ever since you started ignoring her again, her mood swings are worse than ever before. I tried to be understanding, because, you know, she’s a tribrid and all. But this is different, Josie. She’s barely herself. And, it’s like she’s a ticking bomb about to explode.”

Josie was shocked. She didn’t expect her ignoring Hope would end up like this, “Also, I can’t push back your confession plan anymore. You do know I need to prepare a lot of stuff for it, and with the finals coming up, we don’t have time to dilly-dally.”

As Josie was about to reply, chaos was then heard from the cafeteria.

The twins ran to where the noise came from and was shocked by what they saw.

Blood was everywhere. 

Some senior vampires were scattered at the side, groaning in pain. 

In the center was Jessica, the vampire Josie got involved with, was on the floor, clearly passed out. Standing over her was Hope. The tribrid’s eyes were glowing; red and gold.

Everyone spectating was shocked by everything that was happening, no one dared to speak. Faintly, a student stumbled at the back, seemingly ran to the headmaster’s office to report the incident.

Josie knows she should be scared, but at the same time, she feels like she needs to speak out.

To call her.

“Hope?”

Hope blinked, her eyes slowly went back to normal. Blue ocean eyes.

The tribrid looked confused with what was going on, so Josie called out again, this time, she walked a bit closer, “Hope.”

Hope looked over to where the voice came from. 

Josie.

Blue meets Brown.

Hope immediately looked away. She looked everywhere, ignoring the brunette. She then saw all the scattered blood everywhere, and her bloodied clothes.

The adults arrived at the cafeteria shocked by what they witnessed.

“Oh my god.”

“Hope!”

Alaric was about to approach Hope when Rebekah stopped him.

The auburn-haired girl slowly backed away. She was breathing heavily like she couldn't believe what was happening around her.

“Hope.”

For the third time, Josie called out for the older girl.

However, this time, Hope doesn’t look at her. “I’m sorry.”

Hope disappears from the cafeteria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This must be the longest chapter I had written.  
> Damn.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "C'mon Hope, I know you are also struggling like us, but please, chill out for a bit," Jed begs at Hope.
> 
> "Sorry Jed, I am trying. I really am. Just," she closed her eyes and sighs heavily, "just inform your pack too to not mess with me no matter what if they don't want trouble."
> 
> "Okay, I will inform them," Jed was about to give Hope a side hug when the tribrid backed away and said, "no physical contact, too." Jed raised his hands up in defeat, "Noted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Long time no update.  
> My work had been quite hectic as of late so I can't really update much as I wanted to.
> 
> Still, I slowly try to write as much as I can.
> 
> I'm not much of a fan of this chapter, as this is a bit incomplete (see notes below to understand).
> 
> I still hope you guys will enjoy this one.

It’s been days since the incident at the docks happened. 

Josie was ignoring her again. 

Hope doesn’t understand the sudden change, everything was going really well between them.

They were just sparring and enjoying each other’s company, then out of nowhere, Josie ran away. Based on what she saw from the younger girl’s changed demeanor, she knows something must have happened. 

Something was triggered.

She wants to know what. 

However, she’s currently occupied at the moment.

The day of the full moon is fast approaching, which means her wolf is acting up. She’s already struggling to control her powers and her overall behavior, with the mix of the agitated wolf, she's barely herself.

Her mood swings were ten times worse now.

This issue didn't just affect her, but also the people around her. 

She could barely join into the conversation of the squad, as she was busy tuning out the noise around her. Due to her lack of sleep, she dozes off more in class. At times, because of severe exhaustion, she would pass out in her wolf form while running in the woods. She also gets easily irritated and snaps at people when they try to talk to her. What's worse is that she almost gets into fights with her fellow students, especially from the wolf faction.

"C'mon Hope, I know you are also struggling like us, but please, chill out for a bit," Jed begs at Hope.

"Sorry Jed, I am trying. I really am. Just," she closed her eyes and sighs heavily, "just inform your pack too to not mess with me no matter what if they don't want trouble."

"Okay, I will inform them," Jed was about to give Hope a side hug when the tribrid backed away and said, "no physical contact, too." Jed raised his hands up in defeat, "Noted."

True to his word, the wolves were able to control themselves around Hope. She's thankful for that. 

Nevertheless, her struggles for control continues.

It didn't help when the adults chimed in as well. 

"Hope," the blonde Mikaelson suddenly barged into Hope's room. "I know, Auntie Bex," the tribrid said as she sips through a blood bag. She walked past her aunt to her bed and sat down.

Rebekah crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, "You don't even know what I'm about to say."

Hope blankly stares at her aunt, "There is no other reason for you to be this concerned other than you learning that your precious niece is losing control." 

Rebekah softened. "Are you okay?"

The short girl smiled sadly, "I'm trying to be."

Rebekah went near her niece and knelt in front of her, "My dear niece," she touches Hope's arm carefully, "How can I help?"

Hope was silent for a while and then mumbled, "I don't know." 

She wants to cry, to let all of her emotions out.

But she can't.

She needs to control them.

The blonde Mikaelson noticed the conflict in Hope's eyes and understood. She moved forward and embraced her. "Hope, let it go."

"I can't," the tribrid whispered.

"You can do it."

"What if...what if I lose control?" Hope choked up at her own words. The room started to shake a little. Rebekah backed away from Hope to look straight at her eyes, "Hope, you can do this." She caresses her niece's cheeks, "Let it go but the proper way. Cry it all out." 

Hope closed her eyes, and the room stopped shaking. Rebekah embraced the younger girl, "It's okay now, Hope."

Hope let's go and cry her heart out.

Through her cry, Rebekah felt all of Hope's emotions. 

Fear. 

Loneliness. 

Sadness.

Pain.

The fear of the tribrid that she would turn evil as she loses more control of her powers and herself. The lonely feeling of being the only one of her kind, she can't relate to anyone. The sadness and pain of longing for someone.

Someone to be there for her, to help her go through this.

But  _ she _ wasn't there.

_ Josie _ wasn't there.

She only wants  _ Josie _ to be by her side.

She needs  _ her _ .

But she was ignored, instead.

For days.

She doesn’t even know why she was being ignored.

Did she do something? Did she trigger something?

She doesn't want to be pissed about this because she knows the brunette has her reasons. However, with her emotions all over the place, she can't help it.

She decides to let the brunette ignore her, she'll ignore her as well.

She needs to focus more on herself for now.

* * *

Hope dreaded going to the cafeteria. With her super heightened senses, being exposed to too many people overwhelms her. However, her aunt encouraged her that she could do it, so she’ll give it a try.

The moment she entered the cafeteria, she was greeted by a lot of noise and a lot of scents, from different factions. It took her awhile to tune them all out before she could function properly. She went first to the food section to collect her dinner.

“Mikaelson!” She heard someone shout. It was Lizzie. “Over here.” She noticed the super squad at one table. 

She internally smiled and inhaled,  _ I can do this _ .

As she approaches their table, she notices that the person she longed for the most wasn’t present.  _ She’s still ignoring me, huh _ . She felt like she swallowed a lump on her throat. She expected this to happen, but it’s still painful to her.

She sat down beside MG, across them was the blonde twin. The vampire gave her two packs of pudding, “Here, eat this.” Hope looked at MG, confused, "What's this?" Before the vampire could answer, Lizzie casually responded, ”You looked like you're about to massacre a whole army." The blonde points at the puddings, "eat those to cool down whatever is boiling within you.”

The tribrid gave both of them a tight-lipped smile, “thanks.” MG smiled back.

“Oh, you don’t have to thank us.“ Lizzie shrugged, “We are just doing our part not to piss you off and be an accessory to the possible massacre you were about to do.” Hope just rolled her eyes,  _ Of course _ .

MG gave his girlfriend a look to be gentle with the tribrid, to which the blonde just rolled her eyes in response. "Don't mind her, Hope."

Hope gave the vampire a small smile in response. As she was about to eat her dinner, she looked over the empty seat across her. It's supposed to be Josie's seat. She felt sadness again.

"She's not coming," Lizzie deadpan told her. She looked at the blonde and monotonously replied, "I'm not asking."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows, "but your face does." 

Sensing the tension from the tribrid, MG clears his throat, "Okay." He clasped his hands and said, "Let's eat our dinner, shall we?"

Lizzie starts to rant about her day, while Hope tries to eat in silence. As time went on, more and more people were coming to the cafeteria and it was getting harder on Hope's part to tune out all of the noise. It was getting hard for her to even listen to Lizzie's nonstop discussion of clothes and some videos she saw on YouTube.

**_Josie's recently looking so hot, don't you think?_ **

**_I know! She really knows how to show off her assets._ **

**_Those legs, damn._ **

Hope suddenly heard some people talking about her best friend out of nowhere. She alarmedly looked around trying to find the perpetrators. MG was startled by the weird behavior of the tribrid and asked, "Hope, you okay?"

"Yeah…"

**_I heard she's quite a good kisser._ **

**_You heard that right, she really is._ **

**_Oh, how'd you know?_ **

**_I got to taste her._ **

She continues to look around, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Hope was about to answer when Lizzie interjected, "You both are not listening to me."

"What? Or course not, babe." He reached out and grabbed Lizzie's hand in assurance. Hope was still tuning out the noise around her, still disturbed about what she heard a while ago.

**_Oh really? Is she, you know, good at bed?_ **

**_I heard she is._ **

**_Secret._ **

Lizzie noticed Hope's confused blank face and tried to get her attention. “Mikaelson!”

**_I mean, Penelope and Jade were all over her, so maybe._ **

**_Maybe._ **

"Mikaelson!”

“WHAT?” The older girl accidentally snapped (literally) her utensils and at the younger twin. The loudness of her voice caught the attention of everyone in the area.

Hope realized what was going on when she saw Lizzie’s shocked face. She tried to explain, “Lizzie, I didn’t mean...“

“Hope Andrea Mikaelson. I had been  _ kind _ and  _ patient _ with you because I know you are going through something,” the blonde was still shocked that her friend shouted at her. She puts her hand on her chest, “But how dare you raise your voice...at  _ me _ ?” Expressing how much she was hurt by the tribrid, she fake cried. “I thought...I thought...we are friends.” She fake sniffled before standing up from her seat, “Let's put our friendship to a pause until you get your shit together.” 

The blonde twin immediately ran out of the cafeteria, leaving Hope and MG trying to process what just happened.

"Did she just-"

"She's overdramatic, Hope. I don't think she meant what she said."

Hope heavily sighed. She thought her day would end well, but it seemed it got worse instead. "I know. I didn't mean to snap at her, it's just..." she glanced at MG beside her, contemplating if she tells him what she heard, "I heard some people talking..."

MG was confused, "you can't tune them out?"

Hope shook her head, "no, it's not like that. I can tune them out," she looked at the vampire, "it's just some people were talking about Josie."

MG tries to understand, "but that's a normal occurrence, Hope. Josie is popular like Lizzie."

"No MG, they were sexualizing her."

MG was shocked, "Oh."

Hope sighed again and glanced at her dinner, all her utensils were now broken and she lost her appetite, "You know what? I think I just need a release. This is getting out of hand." She looked at her friend again and said, "I'll go first and wolf out."

"Okay. Take care, Hope." The tribrid gave the vampire a small smile in response before standing up from her seat.

As she was about to go out of the cafeteria, she bumped into a bunch of senior vampires. "Watch where you are going, bitch."

It took a lot of control from Hope not to snap at them. She meekly responded, "sorry." The tribrid then realized she bumped into Jessica and her minions.

The senior vampire just rolled her eyes and pushed the tribrid to the side. The seniors then continued their conversation. As Hope was controlling her anger, she then noticed the voices of the senior vampires that walked past her. She realized it was them who talked badly at Josie. "It was you guys."

Jessica then turned around and raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"

"It's your voices I heard," Hope glared at them, "You guys talked badly at Josie." Jessica was taken aback by this, "excuse me?"

Hope growled, "You talked about Josie like she's a sexual object you people could fawn of."

Jessica scoffed and laughed, "so what about it? It's not like it's a crime to  _ appreciate _ someone's  _ assets _ ." The senior vampire walked closer to the tribrid and said, "and from what I remember, you don't have the right to be angry. You are not even her girlfriend." Hope's jaw hardens in anger. She tried so hard to keep her emotions (and wolf) in check and not create chaos.

Jessica smirked at the tribrid before going back to her group. However, the scent of the tribrid caught the attention of the female vampire. "Wait," she moved closer to the tribrid again and sniffed her. As per her assumptions, Hope had a similar scent as Josie, "Now, I get it." She looked straight into the tribrid's eyes and said, "You liked Josie."

Hope widens her eyes in shock. Jessica evilly laughs as the tribrid's expression shows her that she was right. "No wonder you were agitated by our conversation." She taunts the tribrid who remains tight-lipped, "Does Josie know about your feelings? I bet you haven't told her. Who knew the one and only tribrid is a coward."

Hope growls in response. Red and golden rings were now glowing from her eyes, "Don't provoke me, Jessica."

"And what?" The senior vampire smirk grew bigger, "You gonna live up to your name and kill me? Oooh...scary." One of Jessica's minions uneasily went near them and tried to stop Jessica from taunting the tribrid. Everyone knows that Hope would never hurt a student, but knowing how aggressive wolves had been these past few days because of the upcoming full moon, they know it's better not to provoke anyone from the wolf faction, especially Hope.

Jessica rolled her eyes at her minions. But before she leaves, she taunts the young Mikaelson one last time, "knowing that you are friends with Josie, so you must have heard from her that I got a chance to do my way on her." She went near the tribrid and whispered, "and she tastes really really good."

Something then snapped within Hope. Like an open dam, she loses all her control of her emotions and grabs Jessica's face and slam it to the floor. In trance, she grabbed the senior vampire's collar and growled, "I told you not..to provoke me." She slams her body again on the floor.

The other senior vampires were shocked by what just happened and tried to attack Hope. However, the tribrid was a lot faster than any of them. She was able to dodge all of their attacks and one by one threw them out of her way. Once she was finished with all of them, she went near Jessica's lifeless body and was about to finish her when she heard Josie's voice, "Hope?"

Josie's voice brought Hope back to normal. She slowly blinks as her eyes turn back to blue. She was out of her trance.

Confused about what just happened, she looked around her surroundings, she heard her name being called out again, "Hope."

She looked over to where the voice came from and there she was, the person she was longing for,  _ Josie _ .

Blue meets Brown.

Hope immediately looked away. She looked everywhere, ignoring the brunette. She saw all the scattered blood everywhere, and her bloodied clothes. She realized she must have lost control and attacked Jessica. She closed her eyes in shame. She can't bear to look at her surroundings anymore.

She then heard Alaric calling out her name,  _ the adults are here. Auntie Bex is here. They could see this mess I created.  _

The auburn-haired girl slowly backed away.  _ I really am a monster. I really am. _

“Hope.”

For the third time, Josie called out for her. However, Hope couldn't bear to look at the Gemini twin. It was too painful and shameful.

“I’m sorry.” She immediately ran out of the cafeteria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be a long one, but I wasn't able to finish this on time so I cut it and move the later parts for the next chapter instead.  
> Why did I decided to post this one and not complete it? Well, I had been dying to make an update to this story for quite some time now. At least I had something to post. Lol.  
> Also, it's Hosie Rain Kiss Day! This is my way of celebrating this important day with you guys. Heh.
> 
> I dunno when I could update next but hopefully, it will be soon. :)


End file.
